At Prunelle de Navacelle, whose maiden name is Perroud, to say that winegrowing is an old family tradition is an understatement. At Château du Basty, the family estate in the hills above Lantignié, they have been winegrowers since… 1482. “I’ve always been immersed in the business, but my story is a bit like that of many young people in the region in the 2000s. Times were hard for winegrowers and parents didn’t encourage young people to take over the vineyards. I passed my ‘baccalauréat’ in 2004; I’ve had ten lives in ten years, worked in the hotel and restaurant trade, in merchandising, lived in Berlin and London… and at around the age of 27-28, the desire to go back to the sources, to put down roots, to farm, was stronger than anything”, Prunelle explains.

Meeting her husband in 2014, who is passionate about agro-ecology, led her to look into ways of selecting cereal and legume seeds that could have a beneficial effect on the vines; this is what is known today as plant cover. Prunelle has been experimenting with the technique since 2019 on a plot in Beaujolais-Lantignié aux Monterniers, and further trials will be carried out in 2021 with other plants. “Behind it all is a strong will to be in harmony with our surroundings, the vines, ecosystems and society”, the young woman says.

When it comes to winemaking, she uses indigenous yeasts and bans inputs, while remaining very modest. “For the time being, I’ve only made six vintages in my life, one in 2017 and 2018, two in 2019 and 2020, so I fully intend to continue experimenting, in winemaking, in ageing, in vats, in foudres, in oak barrels, in concrete; and I may even do it for the rest of my life”.