Domaine Milan
France, Provence
The Story
Domaine Milan was created in 1956 by Robert Milan, Henri’s father. It was here that Henri planted his first vine at the age of eight. Back then, the land was used for conventional farming methods. This was one of the big changes that were heralded when Henri took over in 1984. The land had been spoiled by excessive synthetic chemical treatments during the 1970s and early 1980s, so it was at this point the younger Milan moved towards organic production.
The appellation of Vin De France does not allow producers to display the vintage of a wine on its label, which is why you will note Roman numerals on the bottle of Domaine Milan VDF instead. It could be said that this rebelliousness is typical of Henri Milan. He broke away from Baux De Provence AOC so that he could have more freedom to produce the wines he wanted to make.
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Henri, Théo & Nathalie
By 1996, Henri Milan began to collaborate with two significant people whose influence would change the way the domain produced wine. One was with renowned soil expert Claude Bourguignon and the other was Claude Courtois, of Les Cailloux Du Paradis, who advised Milan on the process of natural winemaking.
Since 2014, Théo, Henri's son, and his wife Nathalie have joined the estate and brings a new lease of life, crafting elegant wines, using no chemicals, no additives, no commercial yeasts and, in some cases, no added sulphur.
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The Place
France, Provence
The domain is located near Alpilles, famous for one former frequent visitor – Vincent Van Gogh. The soils are a mixture of blue marl, limestone, clay and yellow sandstone.
The only chemical treatment used during the entire process of growth and vinification is a small amount of sulphur dioxide, which is added, on some rare occasions, during bottling. Fermentation begins through the use of indigenous yeasts found naturally on the skins of the grapes, which are harvested manually.
Location
Photo credit Tom Morgan