Cédric Ducoté « We are the gatekeepers to this world and I wish to succeed in what our predecessors did: a domain with an unmistakable image in the landscape of great Jurassian wines. »
Cédric Ducoté - Manager
Where are you from ?
I am originally from the south of Burgundy, the gateway to the sun, where the architecture of the Mâconnais galleries calls for the enjoyment of the outdoors. A small village called Prissé, my parents are wine growers in the Saint-Véran appellation. We spent part of the school vacations walking the rows, secateurs or shears in hand, to tend our Chardonnay vines with my brother and sister and harvest time was always synonymous with great days: the second one started after school, in the vineyard !
When did you decide to work in wine production ?
Since forever would be an easy answer but it is natural. I have been cradled in the vineyards for as long as I can remember!
So I followed a general curriculum (Bac S specializing in mathematics, then Biology Faculty with Chemistry-Biochemistry option in Dijon).
I worked in a winery in the Mâconnais region before joining the IUVV in Dijon to take the DNO (Diplôme Nationale d'Œnologue) course. I graduated as an oenologist at the end of the 2-year course in 2007.
I decided to finalize my studies by joining the ESC Dijon in order to follow a Master of International Business in Wines and Spirits over 1 year, then I flew to the USA where I spent 4 years between the United States and Canada.
For the last 12 years I have traveled the globe to spread the word of our unique terroirs! I enjoyed discovering all those corners of the world where wine is called brotherhood. I am fortunate to have a job that combines history, terroir, tradition and travel!
What do you appreciate in a wine?
I am both a person in a hurry and a patient person. The key is to be able to offer a wine that can be enjoyed young while retaining its ageing potential: let's not forget that a wine is an ode to time. In a world that moves faster and faster, we often forget this, and our magnum wine library is there to remind us!
However, not everyone appreciates bottles with bottle age. The tertiary notes must be understood!
What is your relationship with nature ?
To be outside above all, and preferably far from the crowds to take advantage of the nature which offers us each time unique moments of communion. Each season has its own activities and wide open spaces. I am also a lover of game and mushrooms, a winning combo for the kitchen as well as for the gourmet.
Above all, I appreciate conviviality. Thus, I consider that there is no ideal food-wine pairing. The moment, the exchange, the sharing count as much as the association if not more.
Do you have any specific hobbies ?
Passionate about music, I am a hunting horn player, an instrument that is very difficult to get used to... I like to rehearse in the evenings at the domain before going home. The resonance is interesting and allows me to refine my sounds. It is an instrument that allows us to progress each time but that knows how to be cruel if we stop the efforts... The trumpet fanfares are my daily musical life in the car!
I am an avid mountaineer and enjoy the mountains all year. Each summer season completes a little more my notebook of ascents. I love hiking in the Mont-Blanc Massif and the roof of Europe is one of my successful climbs. For the little anecdote the last ascent of the Mont-Blanc dates from 2016 with my Father and my brother.
A vintage that is close to your heart?
2019 the first real vintage since the beginning of this Jurassian adventure! A vintage that suffered severely from the frost in May, with a loss of about 90% on some parcels, but which opened the way to a rebirth of our work philosophy.
What do you like about the Jura region? What makes the Jura unique? How does it compare to Burgundy?
The Jura offers everything at hand for those who love nature: wine, agriculture, lakes, forests and mountains. In addition, the region has a rich cultural heritage and history: we could quote the famous motto of Franche-Comté: "Comtois rends toi nenni ma foi!" A laconism reflecting well the personality of the Jurassiens: stubborn and determined !
If we compare it to Burgundy through some quick shortcuts, I would say that it is a mirror image of Burgundy, but with more geological diversity and exposure thanks to the remote areas of the Jurassian landscape. It is also a mirror image because the two face each other, separated by the Saône plain which, when it collapsed, helped create the hillsides. We work with two common grape varieties: Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, but they reveal different expressions.
What makes the parcels of the domain special is their geographical and therefore geological diversity where the highlighting of parcels finds all its meaning. Be patient!
What is your work philosophy?
Since 2018 I have been working with passion and perseverance to make this beautiful estate evolve whether it be in the vineyard, the cellar or in its distribution. Everything is linked, from the grape to the pleasure of tasting it in our glass. It is an evolution that I wish to continue with the work of the Rolet family before us. It is necessary and must accompany the change in our working environment.
The highlight for me was the launch of the organic certification process in June 2021, thus rewarding the decisions we have taken and the unfailing involvement of my team, as well as their commitment to this long-term project. The cellar is obviously accompanying it to bring depth, precision, balance and delicacy to our emblematic vintages, whether it is for example the vinification in whole bunches, natural yeasts, maceration without sulphite, reserves on the crémants etc. There is no shortage of ideas, I am happy to say. I am also fortunate to be followed without reservation by the owners.
What are the future challenges for Domaine Rolet?
I have been proud for the past 4 years to have succeeded in enrolling the team, which was in place at the time, in this project despite all the changes that it may have brought them. For me, this is a guarantee of continuity and transmission of knowledge and identity, the team being the basis of the daily work, a guarantee of success. We are currently putting a lot of time and energy into the organic conversion of the estate, which will be initiated in 2019. We are thinking about our common future, and our technical choices are guided by our convictions and concrete actions. Putting the vine back in the spotlight with all its nobility and diversity in our beautiful Jura seemed unavoidable. We are the gatekeepers to this world and I hope to achieve what our predecessors did for the domain: an unmistakable image in the landscape of great Jura wines.