Hailing from Saumur where she grew up in a winemaking family, Veronique and her husband, John Cochran purchased 20 hectares of vines close to the Gironde river outside the town of Bourg in the mid-1980s. These vines are surrounded by another 15 hectares of forest. Sadly, John passed away in 2009, but Veronique continues to make some of the most compelling wines in the area. Veronique was one of the earliest adopters of biodynamic farming in the region, having converted the entire estate in 1988. This is no doubt an influence from her father, François Bouchet, one of the pioneering farmers, researchers, and authors in the fields who started farming his own estate, Domaine de Chateau Gaillard, using these methods in the 1960s. All work in the vineyard is done by hand, and occasionally with draught horses for light tillage, and the average age of the vines is around 35-40 years old. In the cellar, Veronique makes use of old concrete vats as well as barrels of different sizes and ages. Macerations are usually quite long, lasting up to a month with very little, if any, punchdowns to minimize extraction. This is the flagship label at the estate. 55% Merlot, 30% Cab Sauv, 10% Cab Franc, and 5% Malbec. All destemmed fruit. It ferments for 3 weeks on the skins and ages for up to 14 months.
