A life project

Passionate of spirit, and fiercely proud of my ancestors’ heritage, I am devoted to perpetuating and renewing the Beaujolais tradition by contributing my enthusiasm, my sensitivity and the experience I have gained in 30 years of living in some of the great cities of the world.
For me, converting the estate to organic agriculture and winemaking went without saying.
My desire is to go back to essentials, that is to say, to the way my great grandfather did things in the thirties, before the industrialization of agriculture and more particularly vine growing practices in Beaujolais after the second world war.
My methods include the preservation of ancient, high density planted vineyards (10,000 vines per hectare/4,000 vines per acre), the rejection of all use of pesticides and other synthetic products, mechanical weeding, low yields and picking the grapes exclusively by hand.
My objective is to work in total harmony with the environment by respecting the soils and the natural cycles of the vine.
The Gamay grapes are vinified in the time-honored way, in wooden vats that are over a century old, with long natural macerations and intense work with the musts for the soft extraction of color, flavor and tannins, without the use of preservatives (sulphites) whenever possible.
This gives wines that are natural, structured, fruity and superbly balanced.

The Estate

20km south of Mâcon and 50km north of Lyon, in the continuity of the Burgundy and Mâcon regions, the estate sits in the heart of the Beaujolais hills, nestling between Morgon, Fleurie and Moulin-à-Vent.
Its modest size (5.5 hectares/13.6 acres) allows each individual vine to be tended with painstaking care, even with the extra work imposed by organic farming. The vineyard has been in the course of conversion to organic agriculture since April 2018. (EU Council Regulation 834/2007).
That means that since the 2017 harvest absolutely no pesticides or chemical fertilizers have touched the plants or the soil. Analysis of the 2018 vintage showed that the wines were already free from all residues of toxic products.
The vines are dispatched across different plots, known as climats, in a radius of 1,000 meters around the village of Lancié. You can see them highlighted in yellow on this map, and we would be delighted to show them to you.

Full-screen view

You can also see our logo in this aerial view. The parcel that contains the Poype du Châtelard, a motte and bailey castle mound, has exactly the same shape.

From yesteryear to today

Records show that my family has been present in the north of Beaujolais since the end of the 17th century. The oldest known title deeds to the property are dated 1754. The name Bélicard is derived from the ancient Burgundian words “bili garten” meaning “pleasant household”. Quite something to live up to!
In more recent times, according to family lore, the current buildings, the house, the vat room and the cellar were built over 300 years ago. It is one of the last traditional winegrower farms in Lancié. My father was born in 1921 in the room that now serves as our office.
In the heart of the estate lies the clos and the monument of the Poype du Châtelard, a motte-and-bailey castle mound, ancestor of mediaeval forts, dating from the 11th century. This unique site looks down over the village of Lancié and offers a splendid 360° panorama of the region.
With wonderful childhood memories linked to the vines and to wine, reinforced by a Diploma in Viticulture and Œnology in 1995, I decided in 2017 to take up the baton at the Domaine and perpetuate the tradition of my ancestors, whilst bringing a new perspective from my position of neo-vigneron.