Romain BOUCHARD, Domaine de l'Enclos - FRANCE / Millésime Bio 2020 Exhibitor


Could you quickly introduce us the Domaine de l'Enclos and your position within it?

Domaine de l'Enclos is a 29-hectare estate on the 4 levels of appellations of Chablis, from Petit Chablis to Grand Cru. We are 2 brothers, Damien and Romain, and created the estate in 2015 on the basis of the family vineyards and built a gravity-fed cellar with an underground vat room in a beautiful property in the heart of Chablis. I am Romain and I mainly look after the vines with my team of 12 people, my brother Damien being more oriented towards working in the cellar. We are certified in organic farming and have a natural approach of winemaking.


Can you tell us how your sales are divided between the different circuits? Who are your main customers? 

Our first vintage was 2016 so we have a recent history in terms of sales. All the more so as our first 2 vintages were very low in volume due to climatic incidents. Having said that, we already have a distribution network in development and the generous 2018 vintage has finally allowed us to conquer new markets. We still have a part of must sales to a few wine merchants but the proportion is likely to decrease due to the development of our bottle sales. France is our first outlet (35% of our turnover) with a clientele of restaurants and wine retailers through a few agents mainly in Lyon, Paris, Alsace, Savoie and Côte d'Azur. Our wines are on the menus of about fifteen starred restaurants and several well-known wine retailers. For the moment, we make very few sales at the estate. On the export market (65%), we are represented in about fifteen countries, the most important being the USA (several importers), the United Kingdom (Liberty Wines), Germany (Vinaturel), the Netherlands and Japan.


You participated in Millésime Bio for the first time in 2020. What made you decide to participate in this fair?

Millésime Bio 2020 was a very important meeting for us because we are in a development phase with still many departements in France and many export countries where we are not represented. And it's a big international trade fair that is very well suited to our strategy.


What was your objective: to meet new customers? Existing customers?  better understand the market?

To meet new customers and present the new vintage to our customers and agents.


Are you satisfied with your participation?

Yes very satisfied, we had 67 visitors from 14 different countries over the 3 days, we had no downtime and yet we were 2 at the stand!


Can you share with us your greatest commercial success at the fair, your best memory?

There are several of them even if the coronavirus has put a stop to business! Thanks to the fair, we have 5 new important export partners (Denmark, Netherlands, Quebec, Luxembourg, Norway) who have already placed orders. In France, we have about 10 new customers, wine merchants, wholesalers, agents, restaurants. We have many other advanced contacts which should unblock after the Covid-19 crisis. If we have to remember one commercial success, I would say the SAQ, the Quebec monopoly is very courted but the buyer came to our stand and liked our wines very much and now we are working together on 2 references!


What are your objectives for the next Millésime Bio fair?

Our objective is to meet new partners in countries and regions of France that are still untouched for us. And of course, it is always a pleasure to have our existing customers taste the new vintage.


I suppose that the health crisis linked to Covid-19 is a difficult time for you. Do you have any particular expectations linked to this situation?

Millésime Bio is in the end the only fair we have participated in in 2020, so the contacts we have had are precious. And we are keeping our fingers crossed that at the next edition, the wine trade will be back on a good dynamic after months of crisis.


Could you describe Millésime Bio in 3 words?

Simplicity, efficiency, conviviality


Presentation of the company :

- Date of creation : 2015

- Volume of production hL/Btl : 120 000 bt currently (potential of 180 000 bt)

- Surface : 29 ha

- Appellations : Chablis Grand Cru, Chablis Premier Cru, Chablis, Petit Chablis

- Range : 10 cuvées

- Distribution channels F / exp : France 35% Export 65%

- Number of employees : 15 people

- Website : www.domainedelenclos.fr

Sudvinbio Sudvinbio, interprofessional association gathering producers and traders of the organic wine industry of Occitania. It organizes the Challenge Millésime Bio contest and the Millésime Bio trade fair. Visit the site
Challenge Millésime BIO International organic wine contest of Millésime Bio trade fair. Visit the site