Patrick Desplats is quite an icon of the natural wine scene, having started Domaine Des Griottes in 1999 with Sébastien Dervieux of Domaine des Babass joining in 2001. The two went their seperate ways in 2011, with quite different styles and an alleged disagreement over whether to plough the soil or not, and disagreements on using tractors Vs horses.
Patrick Desplats is quite a mythical character. Some claim he self-identifies as a plant, eating air and breathing sunshine. He avoids using fuel, meditating for hours on end in the sun, lives in a unelectrified 2m squared shack next to the vines and has a Qvevri garden to be as close to wild nature as possible. He is joined by cats and armed with a unique vision to his winemaking process not commonly found in France, but more Georgia. For example, he is known to train some of his vines up trees.
He does not use Sulphur or Copper in the vines, not sulphites in the vineyard. There is a polyculture of herbs, flowers, fruit trees amongst his wild looking vines, which he farms 6 hectares of. He no longer works with an actual winery, but lives and works outside, amongst the vines using Qvevri amphora to work without the need for electricity.
These VERY RARE, super low quantity wines are low alcohol, wild, vibrant and often with elements of Volatile Acidity, so be aware of this before you buy.
