"Intuition" comes from the 2.5-hectare (6 acre) Les Grandes Vignes vineyard at 350 meters (1,100 feet!) on sandy-granitic soil with southern exposure. It is a reclaimed Roman vineyard (note the Roman coin on the label - one of many artifacts uncovered while planting the vineyard!) located near Vernosc-lès-Annonay, on the plateau above the Rhône valley. Nicolas calls his wines from this vineyard "Intuition" because of the emotional connection he felt to the place growing up, a feeling of connectedness as his boyhood self discovered the wild vines in the area, remnants of the Roman era. The vineyard is planted primarily to syrah, with a tiny amount of viognier.
Nicolas likes to explain that his wine-making is non-formulaic: adapting it to each vintage’s unique conditions. The essence of his philosophy is to make terroir and finesse-driven wines that are pure, precise, clean, and transparent. Intuition is well-structured, yet also approachable and easy to drink.
Vinification – After a manual harvest, the grapes are destemmed and fermentation occurs spontaneously with natural yeasts in cement tanks, with a 20 day maceration on the skins. It is then aged for nine months in a combination of three, four, and five-year-old Burgundy barrels. No sulfur was added during the vinification process, only a small amount at bottling.
Collines Rhodaniennes
Site: Les Grands Vignes
Grapes: Syrah and viognier
Vine Age: 10 years old
Soil: Sand and granite
Farming: Organic
Vinification: Fermented with indigenous yeast in concrete tanks
Oak Regimen: Nine months in three, four, and five-year-old barrels
Vegan: Yes
Nicolas Badel (nee-coe-lah bah-del) trained as an engineer before deciding that winemaking was his true calling. When he turned to viticulture he spent years working in the vineyards of other producers. In 1999, he acquired his vineyards in Saint-Joseph and Condrieu near the town of Limony and began by selling his grapes to the local cooperative. It wasn’t until 2010 that he finally started bottling wine under his own name from his own eight hectares (~20 acres), the perfect story to depict his patience and determination - a perfectionist who prefers to take his time and do things the right way.
His farming has been certified organic since 1999 and he is now beginning the move to biodynamic farming to make the finest wines possible from his terroir. The Intuition wines are from a vineyard planted mostly to syrah, but also some marsanne and viognier within a natural clos, secluded within a forest and untouched by other vineyards. Nicolas describes the naturally beautiful area as ‘sauvage’. The vineyard is ideal for Syrah, with a southern exposure that protects the vines from the cold northerly winds.
