Deeply-rooted Values
Bringing out the very essence of a terroir inevitably requires rigorous, responsible running of the vineyard. Wine-growing that is attentive to the plant, to its balance, to its cycles, and to its environment. Precise wine-growing, based on meticulous observation and monitoring of each of the Domaine’s sixty or so plots, where the tasks are performed in the first instance by the dexterity of human hands, though without being afraid of carefully-considered use of machines.
A Living Vine…
These plots are always cultivated favouring the quality of the fruit over quantity. A quality that is closely dependent on the vitality of the root stocks, guaranteed by strong, deep roots that allow the vine to draw the minerals from the soil and survive dry spells. Respecting the flows of the sap, the short Guyot Poussard pruning ensures vigour and moderate yields, so as to obtain grapes in which the vine sap will concentrate sugars, minerals, and acids that will be perfectly ripe and balanced at the moment of picking.
…in a Healthy Vineyard
These grapes must also be as pure and healthy as possible. Hence in the mid 2000s, Patrick and Christophe Roth wanted to review their growing practices, in order to move towards viticulture that places the plant at the very heart of the scheme, for wines that better reveal their terroir. After some initial tests and a period of transition and observing the results in the field and in the wines, in early 2016 the Domaine Robert Roth began converting its entire vineyard to Organic farming, obtaining ECOCERT certification in 2019.
This cultivation choice involves complete abandonment of synthetic chemical phytosanitary products and fertilizers, along with herbicides. The latter are replaced by the use of compounds of solely natural origin (Bordeaux mixture, mineral sulphur, compost, etc.) and by tilling. To this can be added practices like natural green cover between the rows of vines, late mowing, or preventing soil compaction, all with the aim of conserving the vitality of the soils, along with the flora and fauna on the Domaine’s plots, and in this way reducing the environmental impact of its wine-growing.