This year it has been 10 years since David Léclapart and I met. It was on a trip -which I consider an initiation- to France. I knew nothing about the world of wine or biodynamic agriculture.
At that time I was in the middle of writing my doctoral thesis on social housing in Morocco during the colonial period. The experience of living in Morocco for three years had taught me the value of agriculture and fishing as a basis for human development; and the presence of many wise men in those trades, whom I wanted to approach to see if anything would rub off on me.
So I took a flight to Marseille, one way. There was no plan. I wanted to do some volunteering on organic farms or do seasonal work in agriculture. I started my search in Ardeche, one of the busiest organic farming areas in France. I joined other friends, marine science students from Cadiz who shared the same philosophy.
We didn't find work but we had a great time. We hitchhiked for the first time, camped in the open air, and heard about Pierre Rabi, a reference in the humanism of agroecology.
They had to turn back, but I continued on my way. I headed for Les Cevennes, a beautiful mountainous area between Valence and Arles. There I found a volunteer farm run by Rudolph. He was the first to talk to me about biodynamics.
He was a wise and humble man, who had recovered old water channels to irrigate his vegetable gardens. We hosted families who went on multi-day treks with children and the help of donkeys. It was an enriching experience. The family of the Maison Blanche She welcomed me very warmly. Her daughter's name was Ocean and she taught me to improve my French.
While I was there, some friends of mine called me to tell me that they were going to Champagne to harvest grapes and there was an opening. I didn't think twice. The plan sounded great.
As fate would have it, I landed in the world of wine at David Léclapart's house, without even knowing that he was “David Léclapart”, a famous Champagne producer. What I found was a joyful family atmosphere, with David's mother - Lucette - cooking wonders for everyone, and with a 50-year-old boy who loved his work, and who, again, talked to me about biodynamics, about the stars and the constellations, about treating plants with plants... it seemed to me like an opening to a new world, a very beautiful horizon to look up to. These were ways of life that attracted me, and people I admired and wanted to follow a similar path in their lives.
I have precious memories of that August 2011, listening to Zaz in the vans, picking Rudolph's green beans and then steaming them, folk waltzing in lost villages.
In 2012 I came back for David's harvest, and in 2014, 2015, 2016... As a result of that meeting, I started to get closer to viticulture in Sanlúcar. I joined some volunteer crews to learn how to prune, graft and castrate. I wanted to start the house from the foundations, as David had taught me. In 2016, after many years of friendship, David and I decided to start Muchada-Léclapart, importing the vigneron model and biodynamic agriculture, to apply it to palomino vines and albariza soils. And here we are ten years later, in the quest for excellence.
