Vauhallan - Les Racines du Temple
Our first visit to this newly planted vineyard in the Île-de-France
Before we stroll into the vines of Les Racines du Temple, for those of you in Paris, there is a tasting of Austrian wines at Fringe Café, 106 rue de Turenne 75003 Paris every day from 6pm-11:59pm through till the end of February.
The Abbaye Saint-Louis du Temple de Limon in the commune of Vauhallan in the Essonne, is across the road from this recently planted addition to the commercial vineyards of the Île-de-France. Once the largest vineyard region in the world, the vineyards of the Île-de-France were devastated by the phylloxera blight in the late 1800’s. Although there were a number of municipal, associative, and heritage vineyards that were replanted, the region lost its status as a commercial wine producer and all but disappeared.
After years of lobbying, the region regained its status as a wine producer in 2016 and was awarded its own IGP (Indication Géographique Protégé - Protected Geographical Indication). Slowly but surely the vineyards of the Île-de-France are returning with new plantings of vines intended for commercial production. Les Racines du Temple in the commune of Vauhallan about 30 kilometres from Paris to the south, on the Saclay plain, is among the more recent.
Christophe Fangeux and Jean-Marc Fleury of Champagne Fleury are the team behind this initiative. Having negotiated a long-term lease of the land from the Abbaye Saint-Louis du Temple, adjacent to their terroir, they have planted 1.2 hectares of vines to pinot noir and gamay near the suburban town of Igny. Their first real vintage is anticipated for this year, 2025.
On Saturday 2 February, Les Racines du Temple hosted a fête to celebrate the Saint-Vincent (Vincent of Saragossa, the patron saint of wine makers, which is officially on 22 January). Mulled wine made with a botched batch of Syrah (they had trouble with brettanomyces) was delicious and wondrously spiced, warming spirits, while wood fires warmed hands.
Keen to get things going, and not yet having a crop that could be vinified, they purchased Syrah grapes from near Carcassonne, vinified in the chai they have created in the chaplaincy that belongs to the Abbaye, right next to the vines. This was a very promising example of their talents as wine makers as it was a delicious, fruity wine, full of joy, that was so much lighter than what we might normally recognise as Syrah, I briefly thought I was tasting their own grapes of Pinot Noir and Gamay.
They are already very well integrated into the community and have received help from neighbours, students, friends and family. Their engagement socially is inclusive and mixed, with an approach that is egalitarian and communal. They are also committed to working with primary school students to educate them in the existence and operations of the vineyard.
“We planted in March of 2022, over two planting sessions. It took around 500 hours of work, much more than we expected. Fortunately, we had help. First of all from family, friends and relatives who lent a helping hand, students from Polytechnique, scouts who came for an hour or two. Children from Vauhallan primary schools also took part in the founding act of planting. Anne, alias Titane, the storyteller from the Syndicat d'initiative de Vauhallan, told stories, and the children went to perch in the ‘children's tree’.
We want to make it a permanent feature that children from the commune come at least once during their schooling. The schoolchildren will follow the work in the vineyard, from pruning to harvesting. This way, they'll know that they have a vineyard in their village and they'll no doubt want to defend and preserve it.
Our idea is to make this place a social tool, not to cultivate our vines behind a high wall but to bring people in, in a form of social mix. It's a bit like walking in the mountains: people from very different social backgrounds come together, but they all share the same desire to work the soil and care for the land.
We also want to reintroduce animals to look after the plots: Olivier Marcouyoux's sheep for eco-grazing and manuring, and horses for ploughing and weeding. We're lucky to have met Louise Drieux, who provides this service in other wine-growing regions (Alsace, Champagne).”
According to the Vauhallan municipal website, “the architecture of Vauhallan has left us a trace of the region's wine-growing activity, which completely disappeared at the end of the 19th century: a number of these typical houses remain in the heart of the village.
In its rural past, until the phylloxera crisis led to the virtual disappearance of vineyards in the Ile-de-France region at the end of the 19th century, the people of Vauhallan relied on vine-growing for part of their livelihood.
Vauhallan's civil records regularly mention ‘vigneron’ (‘winegrower’). In the 18th and 19th centuries, the presence of vines in Vauhallan is attested to in two ways: firstly, in the 1785 Intendance Plan, where 9.56 arpents (3.26 ha) of vines are mentioned; secondly, postcards from the end of the 19th century still show the presence of the vineyard.
It was located on the south-facing slopes where the vines were planted in crowds, i.e. without the stakes in rows that are usually used today. The grape variety at the time was Noah, which has since been banned for winemaking. It was used to make red wine, a widely consumed product, particularly for the market in Paris and its suburbs, which was its main outlet.
Another reminder of winegrowing activity can be found in the church: the stained glass window donated in 1860 during the restoration of the building by the Saint-Vincent brotherhood, which brought together the local winegrowers. Saint Vincent is traditionally the patron saint of winegrowers. On the stained glass window, the saint carries a bunch of grapes in a vineyard setting.”
It is early days for Les Racines du Temple but we are very much looking forward to their first vintage and our next visit.
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