RARE GRAPE VARIETAL RESOURCE

Espanenc, also known as Plant Droit, is a historic grape variety native to the Hautes-Alpes department. It has distinctive black berries, slightly elongated in shape, and leaves, which are initially yellow and have three to five lobes when mature. 

This variety is also known as pousse de chèvre (literally “goat’s shoot”) by the local people because the bunches of grapes are said to resemble a goat’s udders. 

Jules Guyot mentions Espanenc, under the name Spanenk, in the 1863 “Bulletin de la société d’études des Hautes-Alpes,” but there is evidence that it has been grown for much longer in the hills along the Durance River, where the variety is said to have originated. In the past, the grape was widely cultivated throughout the Hautes-Alpes department, and could also be found in a vineyards elsewhere in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region. 

According to the Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique, the French national agricultural research institute, there were 337 hectares planted in 1968, but by 2011 there were only 18. Now only one vineyard of Espanenc remains, in the Hautes-Alpes commune of Remollon. The grapes are not vinified on their own, but taken to the Valserres cooperative and added to a mixed cuvée. A few Espanenc vines are scattered in plots alongside other varieties. 

A microvinification was carried out in 2015 at the Domaine du Petit Août, using 200 plants onto which Espanenc cuttings from the Remollon plot had been grafted. This process showed that even with small yields, careful vinification of this variety can produce very interesting results. 

So to date, only one cuvée of pure Espanenc exists: around 200 bottles of 75 cl each, produced by vigneron Yann de Agostini at his Domaine du Petit Août. Like the Mollard variety, next to which it is often planted, Espanenc produces a light, aromatic wine with a low alcohol level. In order to protect this historic variety at risk of extinction, Yann has decided to dedicate more space to it in his Domaine, so that he can continue to vinify it on its own. 

In order to go ahead with this project, he has launched a crowdfunding campaign on the Fundovino site, as financial support would make it possible to revive Espanenc production and safeguard its future. 

For more information, click here: https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/en/yesterdays-grapes-for-todays-wine/

(Courtesy of Slow Food Foundation for Biodiversity – Ark of Taste) https://www.fondazioneslowfood.com/en/ark-of-taste-slow-food/?fwp_arca_settore=wines-and-grape-varietals-en)

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