The wine sector is perhaps one of the most vulnerable to the global climate emergency. While many wine-growing regions struggle against excessive heat and unbalanced ripening, in Valle d’Aosta, a land of “heroic” viticulture, the altitude is transforming this challenge into an unexpected qualitative advantage. We had the pleasure of seeing this personally by participating in an exclusive tasting of Grosjean wines held in Rome in Giulio Terrinoni’s starred restaurant, to understand how this family of vigneron an organic pioneer in the region, is transforming the “heroic” altitude into a bastion of excellence and sustainability, managing to create wines that are not only excellent, but also structured and long-lived.
The Heroic Story of Grosjean
The history of the Grosjeans, wise custodians of native grapes, is inextricably linked to that of the Aosta Valley. The presence of the family has been attested since the first decades of the 1600s when they were invited by the Duke of Savoy to repopulate the Valley after the plague of 1630. It was initially the monks, first Benedictines and then Cistercians, who imported the savoir-faire of viticulture in the Alpine region, transforming the woods into approximately 3,500 hectares of vineyards.
This tradition, however, suffered a severe blow due to phylloxera and downy mildew, but above all with the arrival of the railway in the early twentieth century, commissioned for the steel industry of the Cogne mines. The railway imported Piedmontese wine, in particular “the straw flask”, which, being “slightly more alcoholic, less acidic, more interesting”, was commercially more convenient, thus pushing local producers to abandon viticulture.
The rebirth of the Grosjean company occurred only after the Second World War, in the 1960s, thanks to Dauphin Grosjean and his wife, Michelina Cachoz:
Grandfather Dauphin made the courageous decision to eliminate breeding, concentrating “exclusively on grapes and wine” – Hervé Grosjean tells us – he focused on yield with grapes such as ciliegiolo, a large and productive bunch.
Today, the company is led by the third generation, four cousins who have consolidated a path of quality, each following their own attitude and bringing their own skills to the cellar.
When the climate changes the wine (and improves it)
Climate change in Val d’Aosta is not a hypothesis, but a reality that can be perceived even at altitudes of 600-900 metres. Hervé Grosjean, among others also the winery’s oenologist, provided us with eloquent data:
if in 2003 the maximum temperatures recorded in the valley were around 30°C, in 2017 they reached 42°C. The direct effect is the increase in sugar concentration in the grapes.
Hervé tells us an exemplary anecdote: he recently came across his father’s 1990 diary in which he noted that it was an event to celebrate when the Petit Gros reached 12 degrees of natural alcohol; “today, in the 2022-2023 vintages, the same grape reached 13 degrees with “absurd ease”
These numbers translate into wines with greater structure and body, a characteristic that proves to be an advantage in a market that seeks “freshness, lightness, minerality, a lean wine”. Today, therefore, Aosta Valley wines, thanks to the altitude, manage to balance the increasing alcohol content (structure) with adequate acidity and freshness.
A brilliant example is Petite Arvine, a white grape variety imported from the Swiss Valais. It is a late vine, normally harvested after October 10th, considered by the company to be the one that “will adapt even better to this climate change”. We tasted the VdA DOC Petite Arvine “Les Frères” 2023, which James Suckling awarded with 95 points, praising its bouquet of “exotic fruit, such as litchi, mango and pineapple, and hints of white flowers“, demonstrating that even with a potential of 14 degrees alcohol, the alpine acidity guarantees its complexity.
Among the reds, some native varieties stand out as they benefit from the new climatic structures, raising the quality of the wines. acquiring complexity without losing elegance. Fumin, which is also the last grape to close the harvest, is perhaps Grosjean’s symbolic red wine. Its tasting reveals “wide and enveloping aromas”, with spicy notes and berries, a “long and vertical sip, with a great acid and savory boost” which gives it considerable future potential. The VdA DOC Fumin Vigne Rovettaz 2023 obtained 94 points from James Suckling.
Another fundamental reference to tradition and excellence is Donnas. This denomination is historic in the region and was the first DOC obtained from the Aosta Valley in 1971. Donnas, whose wines are at least 85% Nebbiolo (or Picotendro) based, is one of the wine-growing areas of the lower valley. The Grosjean winery is expanding its valorization path with an “area dedicated entirely to Nebbiolo-Picotendro in the Donnas cru”. Donnas DOC requires aging for at least 24 months, of which 10 in wooden barrels. Recently, Grosjean’s Donnas received 95 points and the “Faccino DoctorWine”.
However, this maturation process due to the changing climate can probably be seen on the VdA DOC Pinot Noir Vigne Tzeriat 2023 (96 Suckling points), described as “fresh and crunchy, but at the same time tasty and structured” which actually revealed itself in all its structure and “wisdom”.
The organic choice: consistency beyond certification
Grosjean’s approach is not limited to organic certification, obtained in 2011 as the first Aosta Valley winery. Their true distinctiveness is coherence, a value that permeates every choice, from the vineyard to the cellar, based on the awareness of living “in one of the most precious areas of the planet”
Already 50 years ago, Grandfather Dauphin “did not use pesticides and acaricides in our vineyards” – Hervé tells us and this green philosophy has evolved through choices that go beyond the organic label.
The company has, in fact, invested in efficiency and water saving: the winery has been “self-sufficient in terms of energy” since 2022, thanks to the implementation of photovoltaic systems and fights drought using “drop by drop” irrigation systems for “significant water savings”. Furthermore, the use of “rippers” (iron teeth) also in summer reduces the evapo-transpiration of the soil, “once again saving water”
To keep the land healthy, the company practices sub-row cultivation to “aerate our land” and uses green manure with autumn sowing. The green manure, laid down rather than reburied, acts as “mulch” and allows us to “host our pollinating insects for as long as possible”. The objective is to bring organic substance to the soil in a natural way. Viticulture in the Aosta Valley is defined as “heroic” due to the slopes that reach up to 80% and requires very high manual effort: “700/800 hours per hectare”, approximately “5/6 times above the national average” of 150 hours/hectare
In the cellar, the priority is the use of “top quality grapes”. The style adopted is the “traditional Aosta Valley” or “Burgundian winemaking style”, focused on “a few indispensable processes”. The ancient “fulling technique” (breaking the pomace cap) has been rediscovered and re-adopted, considered “very respectful of our skins”. The primary objective is to “reduce the use of sulfur dioxide to the minimum possible”, maintaining levels “much lower than the minimum quantity required.
Despite the climatic challenges, the altitude and tenacity of the Grosjeans offer a quality response.
You can think of the Grosjean wines – which with its 25 different products which today represent around 10% of Aosta Valley production – not as simple agricultural products, but as racing boats sailing in a stormy sea: while the majority of boats (lowland wines) risk sinking due to too much wind (excessive heat), the Alpine wines (thanks to the altitude) are built with a more solid hull (structure and alcohol) and a deep keel (acidity and freshness) which allows them to withstand the strength of the climate and navigate towards excellence, where others cannot reach.
In short, the story of Grosjean, from the rebirth desired by Grandfather Dauphin to the current management of the four cousins, is an example of how the commitment to biological coherence and adaptation to climatic cycles leads to an impeccable result: distilling “as much beauty from as much wonder, in every single bottle of our wine”
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