Dame de onze heures

Interior designer and professional musician. These were the professions of Béatrice and Vincent Rapin before they became winegrowers. When Béatrice’s father bought a vineyard in Saint-Émilion in 1990, this couple, already nonconformists at heart, left the Loire with their three children to come and manage the estate. When the estate was sold in 2007, they kept a 1.22-hectare parcel of vines they named La Dame de Onze Heures, a living symbol of their biodynamic approach, a flower in the lily of the valley family that opens in the late morning under the warmth of the sun and closes in the evening. It’s not just the name of their plot that’s original. “We want living organisms in the soil,” says Vincent. This originality is expressed by the planting of around a hundred fruit trees on the plot to encourage harmony between flora and fauna. No weedkillers, no tilling of the soil, which is never turned over, and grass is allowed to grow everywhere, even under the rows. Certified organic in 2009, the vines, whose average age varies around 50 years, receive only minimal treatments of copper and sulfur. The grapes are harvested by hand and vinified in large stainless steel vats. The wine is then aged in ceramic eggs and foudres to ensure maximum purity of fruit. Year in, year out, around 5,000 bottles are produced, half of which are exported. Whether you’re a non-conformist or not, La Dame de Onze Heures is sure to please quality wine lovers looking for that little something different that makes you want to come back for more.