La Petite Odyssée
Toulouse Region, Lavernose Lacasse France
 

Antoine Bernardin trained as an oenologist before spending a few formative months working at Domaine Achillée  in Alsace, one of the names that first drew him toward organic and biodynamic winemaking.
 

He then returned to his native Haute-Garonne, taking over more or less abandoned vineyards on the Terrasses de Garonne, south of Toulouse, and founded La Petite Odyssée in March 2019. The domaine has grown quickly since, from 4 hectares at the start to around 8 hectares today, spread across the communes of Lavernose-Lacasse and Savignargues.
 

The vines sit on a distinctive terroir of Garonne gravel, rolled pebbles carried down from the Pyrenees, and are farmed organically, with the domaine now moving through Demeter biodynamic certification. Grapes are harvested by hand, some crushed by foot, and fermented with native yeasts.
 

Antoine works with an unusually wide palette for the region, from Syrah, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon in the reds to Grenache Blanc, Bouysselet and Chardonnay in the whites, letting the pebbly soil do most of the talking.
 

The result is fresh, digestible wine that wears its biodynamic, natural approach lightly, true to what he calls his own small odyssey back to his roots.