Bruno Duchêne

Bruno Duchêne represents a fascinating career transformation in the natural wine world. Originally from the Loire Valley, where his family operated a thriving farm machinery business, Bruno's path to winemaking was unconventional. Before discovering his passion for wine, he worked as a wild mushroom distributor throughout the Loire Valley and Burgundy regions, an experience that first exposed him to meticulously crafted, non-interventionist wines.

Inspired by these authentic expressions, Bruno sought formal training with Frédéric Cossard at Domaine de Chassorney in Saint-Romain, where he spent nine months learning biodynamic farming practices and natural winemaking techniques. This apprenticeship proved transformative, teaching him not only how to make wine but also how to truly appreciate it.

Today, Bruno resides in Banyuls-sur-Mer on the Côte Vermeille, where the Pyrenees meet the Mediterranean Sea. This dramatic Catalonian landscape, famously captured by Fauvist painters like Matisse, provides the backdrop for his four hectares of vineyards spread across four parcels. His vines grow on decomposed schist soils at approximately 300 meters altitude, planted on steep terraced hillsides that require entirely manual cultivation.

Bruno primarily produces three distinctive red wines: La Luna, La Pascole, and L'Anodine, all featuring co-planted Grenache varieties with Carignan. Each cuvée represents different vineyard management approaches, from parcels where grass grows freely to hand-worked sites impossible to mechanize. His organic farming practices benefit from the warm, dry Mediterranean climate, requiring minimal sulfur treatments and no copper applications. Bruno's commitment to natural fermentation with indigenous yeasts and minimal intervention creates wines that authentically express this legendary terroir.