Meet the couple redefining Bordeaux’s wine scene with Chateau Shuette

“I’m sure most consumers think that wine is just grapes,” Hocking continues. “It can be clay, acids, sugars, colours, and so many different things but still be presented in the same way. What’s fantastic about our place is getting to educate consumers and say ‘This is different from what you may already be drinking but it's going to be better for you.’” 

Hocking’s background as a chef played an integral role in the vineyard’s formation, built on his commitment to quality ingredients: “You’ve got to start with something that is really good so you can build upon that to create something delicious. It became an obsession for me, finding really good, sustainable products. The best thing to do was take control and create something ourselves.” 

Central to Chateau Shuette’s philosophy is a rejection of monoculture, the cultivation of a single crop—a practice that dominates traditional winemaking. “We knew that we wanted to do mixed agriculture. Monoculture tends to be less good for the environment because it draws the same nutrients from the ground year on year. If you build diversity—for us that’s a market garden, fruit trees, and livestock—you have increased insect populations, natural fertilisers, natural insect control, so you don’t need pesticides,” Hocking adds. 

See also: Langit Collective’s founders fell in love with Sarawakian heirloom rice and set out to empower the hands behind the produce

The winemaking process at Chateau Shuette is just as intricate as its agricultural ethos. Hocking adopts a hands-on approach to the craft, planting nitrogen-fixing peas to loosen soil and foregoing heavy machinery: “We do everything by hand. We harvest very early in the morning so vines stay cold and grapes don’t burst or oxidise.”

“The key thing about natural wine is that we don’t use anything that doesn’t come from our vineyard.” Wines are fermented with yeast found on grape skins, without the use of sulphites, keeping true to natural winemaking techniques.

I ask Ho about her Malaysian heritage, as non-French owners of a Bordeaux-based vineyard have raised eyebrows from purists. “While it's not very relatable in the sense that winemaking isn't native to Malaysia, I think the desire to create something that's natural and moves away from very processed food or drinks is something that resonates with Malaysians as well as anyone else,” she answers. Biodynamic and organic viticulture aren’t popular in the area, with some viewing these processes as “taking away space or sacrificing bottles,” according to Ho. 

Don’t miss: Brewing tradition: Shaun Chang on fusing modernity and heritage with sparkling tuak

“Out of 7,000 wineries in Bordeaux, there’s maybe 50 people making natural wine,” says Hocking. “People understand what a red wine from Bordeaux should look and taste like but it has these 7,000 winemakers chasing somebody else’s idea of what wine should be. When you make natural wine, you’re almost abandoning this notion” he continues. 

Ho goes on to tell me about the wines currently on offer at Chateau Shuette. Its first release, welcomed to the world this year, comprises a portfolio of five wines—Aurum, Novas, Sanguis, Anima, and Radix. The first is an orange wine, the poster child of natural wines, which Ho describes as “not light or fluffy, with a lot of structure and complexity.” 

Novas was the product of a happy accident, created through spontaneous fermentation to form an off-dry Claret. Then, there is Radix, a contemporary tribute to classic Bordeaux reds that seeks to reinvent tradition. The two have plans to soon begin selling their creations to Asian markets, with Ho stating that Novas was made with this intention in mind and designed to be served slightly chilled.

Looking ahead, the pair remain dedicated to their departure from traditional winemaking, with Hocking affirming this mission: “We want to make the wine of our place, with the grapes we've harvested, not with someone else’s ideas.”

NOW READ

8 bars with amazing food programmes

Tatler Dining teams up with Malaysia Airports to elevate the annual KULinary festival

The two faces of Nigel Ng: Who is the man behind the character?