One of my favorite winemakers, and the person I interviewed for my very first Vine Route article, is Didier Barral of Domaine Léon Barral. Barral and his brother Jean-Luc make some of the best wine in the Faugères Wine Appellation in the Haut Languedoc region north of Béziers.
The frères Barral were recently featured in a program called “Carnets du Sud” on France 3 television. This show is produced by France 3 in the south of France; other regions have their own France 3 television affiliates that produce similar programs that look at regional culture, history, gastronomy and daily life. It’s worthwhile to watch these regional programs, as they are usually well done, and they show how each French region is distinctly different.
I wasn’t aware of this Carnets du Sud program, which is broadcast each Saturday at 4:15 p.m. My friend Pierre, who is from the village of Lenthéric where Domaine Léon Barral is located, called me on Sunday, January 17, the day following the broadcast, to tell me about it. I located the video on France 3’s website, as well as on a website named Dailymotion (videos embedded below), which is the French equivalent of YouTube.
If you’re fluent in French, you’ll definitely enjoy watching the video (it’s split into two videos on the Dailymotion site, which reduces the file download and loading time). My one criticism of this video is that the presenter, a young woman named Hélène Bassas, sends out a jarringly incongruent message to the down-to-earth, one-stop-sign reality of the Lenthéric that I know. One example is her choice of clothes, which can only be called thrift-store chic. At different points in the program, she’s shown wearing a plush, boa-necked, Joseph-and-the-Amazing-Technicolor Dreamcoat, which wouldn’t be so bad, except that she’s seated surrounded by the pigs that run free in the Barral’s vineyard. The music-video feel to many of the images doesn’t help things either. There are numerous blurred scenes of Bassas running through vineyards, a plethora of sepia-toned, black-and-white photos; several poignant shots of Barral frère Jean-Luc staring pensively out of the domain cellar door; and Bassas driving a tractor while Jean-Luc walks alongside to prevent her from running over any 70-year-old vines. There are also enough bucolic shots of antique French cars, along with the obligatory French Solex mobylette (which, admittedly, Didier Barral does use (excuse the pun) to barrel around the village on), all accompanied by the songs of Jean Ferrat, a French musician who is known primarily for singing the praise of the noble peasant. All that’s missing is a shot of Barral pedaling his bicycle over the hill, wearing a beret, and holding a baguette under his arm. It’s enough to make Marcel Pagnol gag.
But if you get beyond the picnic-at-sunset-on-grassy-knoll, flickering-Cinema-Paradiso images, there’s a delightful video here. That the program works is testimony to Bassas’s obvious affection for her subject material, her sensitivity to the people who she’s interviewing, and Didier Barral’s extraordinary communication skills. There aren’t many people who can make animal excrement, worms and other subterranean denizens of his terroir, and his concept of biodynamic viticulture sound so fascinating and interesting.
Barral (and it’s pretty much Didier who does the talking; his brother Jean-Luc is obviously more shy and reserved) is passion… (opps, almost broke my number one New Year’s resolution already) is totally convincing when he explains the logic of biodiversity, the importance of animal life in a vineyard, and his concept of sustainability, which precludes their enlarging their activity (to expand, he explains, would mean becoming more industrial, and they couldn’t produce the same kind of wine). “You plant grape vines,” he says, “for future generations. It’s only after 30 years that the vine’s roots reach the sub-soil and the wine becomes interesting.”
After a particularly fervent discussion about his strong winemaking ideals, Bassas says to Barral “You’re quite serious, aren’t you?” He smiles, and tells her that it’s not so much about being serious—“It’s about logic and common sense. It’s the common sense of the ‘paysan’ (“peasant”)”, he says, with a John Wayne-style “Aw, shucks, ma’am, catching those wild horses was easy” drawl (if “The Duke” had spoken with an Occitan accent, that is).
But one begins to wonder how much of Barral’s “common sense” routine is conviction, and how much is a little bit of marketing. Not to take anything away from one of the Languedoc’s most talented winemakers, but it did give me pause when Bassas said to him: “You come across a little bit “farfelu” (“eccentric” or “hare-brained”) with pigs running around your vineyard, don’t you?” Without missing a beat, he replies: “The paté is good. The boudin is good. And the gigots are good.” Whether it’s for the manure or for the pork products, that is something only the Barrals can say. But, to coin a phrase (and with apologies to Three Dog Night)—the truth is in the wine, and the Domaine Léon Barral makes some mighty fine wine.
Lenthéric video I
[dailymotion]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbx32p_lentheric-12_news[/dailymotion]
Lenthéric video II
[dailymotion]http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xbx2mr_lentheric-22_news[/dailymotion]
{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
Tom, nice piece. Thanks for posting the videos, as I had not seen them. I would like to argue a point in your last paragraph. As for the Barrals’ conviction, all one has to do is to spend a few weeks in their company to realize that they live and work in a way that is all about their land and the wines they produce. It might come off as a marketing ploy to someone who hasn’t spent time with them, but let me assure you that the brothers are true stewards of their land, treating it with the upmost respect and love….and that shows in every bottle of wine they produce.
Timothy, I’m glad that you enjoyed the article, and I can understand, since you’ve spent extended periods of time with Didier and Jean-Luc Barral, how you enjoyed seeing the videos. I’m sorry if the conclusion of my piece suggests anything negative. Like you, I have immense respect for them, their dedication to their land, and the quality of their wine. Having worked in marketing for the better part of two decades, I can say that there’s nothing disingenuous about intelligently promoting an image.
Hello Tom, as well as I liked the video – I love Didiers wine:-) – I like your analyses of Hélène Bassas “dreamcoat” and blurry pictures… as your marketing steeled eye indicates: there is an image to promote, but as much of Carnets de Sud as of Domaine Barral – and having participated in the emission some years ago, I totally agree;-).
Thanks, Iris. We’re both clear-eyed realists.