Taking over from his father in 2014, Valentin Morel renamed the estate Les Pieds sur Terre and adopted organic and biodynamic farming, thus joining the young generation of organic winegrowers in the Jura region who are grouped around the Le Nez dans le Vert trade fair.
By taking over from his father Jean-Luc Morel (ex Domaine Morel-Thibaut) in 2014, Valentin has injected new energy into the 6 ha of the family vineyard, now called Les Pieds sur Terre, located in Poligny in the Côtes-du-Jura appellation. This is a whole programme, inspired by the research of Rudolf Steiner and Masanobu Fukuoka, which has resulted in the adoption of organic and biodynamic farming, with great attention paid to the microbiology of the soil. The vines are divided between marl and clay-limestone soils, with grape varieties adapted to these terroirs and exposures. On the main plot known as Les Trouillots, which faces south and was planted in the 1980s, Poulsard and Trousseau are reserved for the marl on the hillside, while Chardonnay, Savagnin and Pinot Noir occupy the upper part of the clay-limestone hillside. Indigenous yeasts, no or very little (sometimes 1g/hl at bottling) added sulphur, as little intervention as possible: the wines, which are all parcel-based cuvées, have a beautiful natural uprightness and an energy that echoes the personality of the winemaker!
