Organic vintage: starting from a blank sheet, the Mas de l’Scripture has managed to keep its character by going organic

In the cellar, Léa and Pascal Fulla taste their different grape varieties. Midi Libre – SYLVIE CAMBON

Le Mas de l’Ecriture was created in 1999. Midi Libre – SYLVIE CAMBON

Dans les vignes à Jonquières pour un vin en Terrasse du Larzac. Midi Libre – SYLVIE CAMBON

Par amour des mots et du vin, Pascal Fulla a créé ce domaine à Jonquières en 1999. Par amour de la terre et des gens, il a décidé de se passer des pesticides pour travailler sa vigne.

At the entrance, two quotes from the poet and great resistance fighter René Char set the tone of the Mas de l’Scripture. Here, in Jonquières, about thirty kilometers west of Montpellier, we make quality organic wine.

"I started with a blank sheet", assures Pascal Fulla, 65 years old, winemaker of the Mas of Scripture for 25 years. He created this estate out of a love of words and a passion for wine. Because this former Air Littoral lawyer, who left the huge regional airline in 1998, a few years before the crash, at just 40 years old, decided to become a winemaker: & quot;I could have bought apartments and rented them but I wanted to participate in the development of a product", says this Lozerian through his mother, Catalan by his father from a family of fishermen and farmers.

Emotion, Thought, Writing

An intellectual-earthling who sets his sights on 17 hectares in these lands then in Coteaux du Languedoc. Before becoming the Terrasses du Larzac ten years ago. A plot not far from some very large estates, such as La Grange des Pères, Daumas-Gassac and especially "le Mas Julien. It was him who encouraged me to look around. I loved this estate and I told myself that not far away, there was a way to make good wine. Rich presentiment. In 1999, the first vintage was released.

A 31st edition of Millésime Bio

It is in a very particular context of farmers' anger that the 31st edition of Mill&sime Bio opens this Monday morning at the Parc des Expos from Montpellier. For three days, this largest trade show in the world with 1,500 exhibitors and 11,000 visitors expected, gives pride of place to hotly topical themes : the preservation of biodiversity and water resources. Also normal as it takes place in Occitanie, the largest wine-growing region in France but above all the leading organic vineyard in France with 59,627 hectares, or 22% of its vines. And where the conversion rate is one of the most important. 

A first wine, a blend of local grape varieties that the former owner made in a cooperative. A range will follow in the direction of writing: from the heart, from the head before the story: Emotion, Thought, Writing. Characters for a wine of character. Three wonderful reds with one thing in common: "The search for balance".

"We saw an almost immediate impact on nature"

Pascal, three children, will be joined by his daughter Léa « to bring a touch of femininity and modernity ». They choose artisanal work. 30 to 35,000 bottles per vintage, no more. With a major milestone: the transition to organic. From 2009. By philosophy. In the name of his children and grandchildren. "It’s a civic commitment, my contribution to saving the planet", assures the winemaker. The abandonment of pesticides is recorded. Three years of conversion later, the Fulla did not take long "to see an almost immediate impact on nature". Return of herbs, insects and animals disappeared from the vines.

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But there is a price to pay: 30% more charges. The price of wine must be increased. Above all "we worked a lot to maintain quality products. Because organic is necessary but not sufficient to make good wine". We must learn to do without pesticides.

"It's not a boho move"

Consumers follow: "Fortunately large houses like Cheval Blanc have started the same process, it helps us. This shows that this is not a boho approach. The family does not regret the financial efforts. In Jonquières, nine out of ten estates have gone organic. « This creates an island, an ecosystem, a common adventure whose Mecca is the Millésime Bio show in which the Mas de l’Scripture participates every year.

The pages have been blackened for 25 years and the Fulla family continues to write "its novel… always with our artisanal vision". We are still far from the epilogue, the end of the story… 

Nicolas Richarme: “Consuming organic is a militant act”

How do we go from a hyper-confidential trade show to the world's leading trade show ?

Thanks to a lot of work and a lot of rigor. We did not vary our positioning, a show made by winegrowers for winegrowers, a very egalitarian show for each exhibitor whether you make 1,000 bottles or a million. With random positioning which is not by name or country. This helps with encounters.

Will the future of wine be organic?

Of course, we must be aware of the environment around us and take care of it. Organic agriculture meets the imperatives in terms of biodiversity or preservation of water resources.

Fight on equal terms on a planetary scale ?

Yes, awareness of the environment is shared across the planet. The share of organic is growing everywhere even if France remains first in surface area in the world, ahead of Italy and Spain.

Organic is no longer popular, particularly with consumers, because of the price, some farmers are returning to conventional…

It is estimated that 4 to 5% take the step of deconversion, but organic wine continues to progress. In terms of turnover, between 2021 and 2022 there is growth of 6.3%.

3 years of conversion, isn’t that too long ?

It's disabling to work organically for 3 years without having the valorization, but this period is essential for biodiversity to return to the estate and for synthetic pesticides in the vines and in the soils are eliminated.

Does wine change its nature by going organic ?

Not fundamentally, but it will require a lot more involvement, monitoring and technical knowledge from the winemaker. We are seeing a move upmarket, making it more of a winegrower's wine.

It’s also a lot more work?

It is estimated that 1.5 times more labor is required in organic than in conventional. This is 30% more charges, the objective is to be able to valorize them by selling the wine at a higher price. We ask consumers to make an effort. Consuming organic is a militant act. It’s good for your health, for the health of the winegrower who produces it and good for the planet.

Very large estates have gone organic, is this important to you ?

They are locomotives especially since commercially, they do not need that to sell their wine. This shows that we are right.

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