In the early 2000s, when around thirty pioneers had been cultivating vines in Belgium since the 1970s, two initiatives were to speed things up. The creation of Ruffus by Raymond Leroy in 2002 and that of Domaine du Chenoy by Philippe Grafé the following year opened a new volume of Walloon viticulture.
The first takes the route of classic grape varieties (Chardonnay and Pinot noir) to produce sparkling wines, the second opts for new varieties that resist vine diseases and allow cleaner viticulture.
Right next to Chenoy, the Baele family had been operating a farm of crops and dairy cattle for several generations. The son of the house, Jean-François, is doing an internship as part of his agronomy studies in his neighbor’s vineyard and also decides to plant resistant varieties.
First one hectare in 2005, then two, then four … up to eight hectares today: the Domaine du Ry d’Argent now incorporates traditional grape varieties, such as Chardonnay or Auxerrois, and has developed a real company commercial through a second company, BGP.
Respond to the request
Created with two French partners in 2015, BGP bought from its beginnings grapes in other Belgian properties as well as abroad to produce a wine intended for mass distribution and export.
Accused by some of making “false Belgian wine”, Jean-François Baele has chosen to take over BGP in his name and no longer buy in Belgium, which we can only be happy about.
“I have always said that it was a temporary solution, he explains, while waiting to be able to plant additional vines or to create partnerships with other Belgian estates. Today, BGP is buying the equivalent of fifteen hectares of grapes either to wine growers who planted for my wife Audrey and me, or from whom I buy part of the harvest. It was important for us to take everything back to be 100% master on board, without any other association, and to make 100% Belgian. “
But this is not the only change for the Ry d’Argent which, after fifteen years of existence, intends to move to a higher stage. “We have changed oenologist as well as part of the team. The range has been revised, it has fewer different products for more consistency, with a new unique bottle, a new dressing and above all new recipes” .
Sparkling wines are therefore reduced to three (Rosée d’Audrey, Nell and Lisy) as are still wines in each color. “I have reached a level, notes Jean-François, but I can do a lot better. I wanted to question myself. This required significant investments – I finance everything myself without any shareholders, he insists – in the winery or in the equipment (pneumatic press, tangential filter, etc.). “
Its secret for the coming years: the constitution, as in Champagne, of reserve wines aged in barrels and above all a new recipe which is specific to it and will allow it to stand out. “I do not only use the three traditional champagne grape varieties, but I am able to offer blends of 6 or 8 grape varieties which may vary over time and give a unique product, of high quality, with gustatory reproducibility. year after year better than in the past. It’s a huge job, but the results for the 2019 vintage (which will be released at the end of 2021) are magnificent, a milestone has passed and I am convinced that I am on the right track. “
A la carte services
Jean-François will continue to work for ten other vineyards, but it is also the experience of these fifteen years that has taught him, with contracts and a strict framework. And to best meet current demand, it has decided to no longer take on new clients for the provision of services.
“At home, I have seven grape varieties (Regent, Cabaret noir, Cabernet Jura, Dornfelder, Solaris, Auxerrois, Chardonnay) and at my customers, they have planted varieties favoring the economic model of sparkling wines. I have also planted three. small plots at Domaine de Ronchinne (formerly Château de la Poste) which have been converted to organic. At Ry d’Argent, I haven’t been spraying on the ground for a long time, I still have a few points to settle for a conversion but I think about it. You have to live with the times, I don’t push but I have nothing against. “
What about the next few years?
“During these 15 years, I have embarked on too many stories, he concludes lucidly. Fortunately I was well surrounded (my wife has an important role) and that I did not lose feathers. Today I put firewalls and I make choices. I will take advantage of the next five years to prepare my old project: to develop quality wines and make Ry d’Argent a must and work less for others, work for us. I am also preparing for a great development given the evolution of the Walloon vineyard, for which I am also partly responsible by having supported partner planters in their project, but I can absorb 100ha of vines in the winery, I am ready . “