Saskia and Maurice Goetschy began their careers in a law firm based in Luxembourg. Although they shared a profound love for nature, becoming vignerons was not part of their professional trajectory. Saskia was born and raised in Andalusia to a Dutch mother and a Spanish father, and her grandfather was a wine merchant there. Maurice was born and raised in southern Alsace, where his grandfather was also a wine trader in Altkirch. In the mid-1990s, Saskia's parents, Els and Ramon, decided to buy an old farmhouse in Occitaine.
The chateau came with a few hectares of vines but it was only in 2017 that neighboring vineyards, which historically belonged to the Boucarut estate, became available on the market. Maurice and Saskia saw this as an opportunity to change their lives. They purchased the land and converted the agricultural practices to organic. Today Château de Boucarut has 20 hectares of land, 15 of which are dedicated to vine growing, and except for a small plot in the Tavel AOC, all the vineyard parcels are located around the estate. These are medium to small in size plots, resting on gently hilly terrain.
The landscape is marked by the presence of numerous hedges and groves which create a varied landscape and preserve the natural biodiversity of the land around the chateau. The growth of cover crops is encouraged across the entire acreage and the use of copper is reduced to the bare minimum, well below the legal standard of organic farming. Tractors are used as little as possible and most of the vineyard work is done by hand. The vines are partially trained to goblet and partially to cordon de royat, although, for the new plantings, Saskia and Maurice favor the goblet system which, according to them, is more respectful of the plant’s needs. Massale selection is the method through which new vineyards are propagated.
In the cellar the use of sulphites is reduced to the minimum and native yeasts are employed for fermentation. This non-interventionist approach, together with meticulous attention to detail and cleanliness, aims at a transparent expression of the characteristics of the various terroirs within Boucarut and a precise interpretation of each vintage.
