In 2012, above the Meuse valley, he discovered an abandoned hillside where old vineyard terraces were slowly disappearing under brush. Yet, beneath this vegetation lay an exceptional terroir: calcareous sands from an ancient coral reef, preserved from intensive agriculture simply because viticulture had vanished there.
Rather than seeking an existing vineyard, Bruno decided to rebuild the one that time had erased. Parcel by parcel, he repurchased these forgotten lands, cleared them, and replanted grape varieties historically present at the crossroads of Champagne, Chablis, and Alsace. Chardonnay, Riesling, Pinot Blanc, Pinot Noir, Petit Meslier, and Arbane found their home again, long before Lorraine disappeared from the major wine maps.
The name Les Innocents speaks volumes about this approach. On these hills scarred by the First World War, Bruno wanted to pay tribute to those who never returned. Even today, traces of the conflict regularly resurface in the vineyards. They are removed discreetly, as if to allow the landscape to finally reclaim its primary vocation: to give rise to life.
This quest for simplicity guides the entire estate. Inspired by Masanobu Fukuoka's philosophy, Bruno intervenes as little as possible. Clovers naturally cover the soil, wooden stakes replace metal installations, and biodiversity reclaims its place. Nothing is ostentatious. Everything seems to have found its balance.
In the cellar, the same restraint prevails. Fermentations occur naturally, aging favors the neutrality of the tank to let the limestone speak directly, and no inputs alter the expression of the grape. The wines exhibit an almost disarming clarity.
What strikes you about Les Innocents' wines is this sense of calm. A pure, luminous matter, carried by a saline freshness and a discreet energy that seem to come directly from these coral soils. Wines that never seek to impress, but that tell with great sincerity the rebirth of a landscape once thought irrevocably lost.
