Bruno Vacon belongs to a small group of viticulturtalists farming on the banks of the Meuse River in Lorraine. Situated between Alsace and Champagne, the region is home to the south-west facing, sun-drenched slope of Ailly-sur-Meuse, where in 2012, among wild cypress, carnation, orchids and mirabelle plums, Bruno planted his first vines, beginning his exploration of this historic hillside and his compelling expression of its fascinating terroir.

Aptly named Les Innocents, Bruno’s estate benefits from soil that has never been touched by synthetic chemicals and has never been worked by a tractor. While his vines are only twelve years old, his extraordinary wines speak to the profound depth of information that can be drawn from healthy soils that haven’t experienced the effects of soil compaction resulting from the use of tractors and heavy machinery. They are serious, concentrated, earthy and very deep.

The soil here is a sandy mix of clay and limestone, with the white varieties planted higher on the slope where there is more limestone and the red varieties planted on the more clay-dominant lower part. The varieties themselves are, fittingly, both Champenoise and Alsatian: chardonnay, pinot noir, arbanne, petit meslier, riesling and pinot gris. Comprising two hectares of terraces, the vines are staked, rather than trellised, and grow amid wild grass, with spontaneous vegetation relied upon to work the soil in accordance with the principles of farmer and philosopher Masanobu Fukuoka.

The fruit is harvested by hand and a vertical press is used, with fermentations and élevage taking place in stainless steel vats. Everything is done by gravity, with no pumping, and the wines are bottled by hand.