Damien Bastian Goddard did not follow a conventional path into wine. He spent years in horticulture and vegetable cultivation, including extended time farming in Chad. After returning to Europe, he worked in a Geneva restaurant, where proximity to the Alps and the wines of Savoie drew him toward viticulture. He apprenticed with producers in the region, most significantly with Jean-François Ganevat in the Jura, before returning to Savoie to start his own project in 2017.
Backstory
The name Ça Boit Libre carries a double meaning: it suggests wine that is free from additives, and it nods to the regional identity of Savoie Libre. Damien is the grandson of André Goddard, the agricultural engineer instrumental in launching the Vin de Savoie appellation in 1973, giving the project deep roots in the region's history. He started with 0.75 hectares of Chasselas in the Marignan appellation and expanded to 4 hectares in 2020 when he took over the vines of Jean-Marie Chappuis.
The Region
Savoie sits in the French Alps, framed by Lake Geneva to the north and the peaks of the pre-Alps to the east. The Marignan subzone, where Damien's original parcels are located, lies within a few hundred meters of Lake Geneva's southern shore in Haute-Savoie. The lake moderates temperatures and the glacial moraine soils impart distinctive mineral freshness to the wines. The region is known for light, precise whites that age surprisingly well.
Vineyards and Farming
The two primary parcels are west-facing and planted in 1985 on glacial moraine less than 500 meters from Lake Geneva. Chasselas is the lead variety, supplemented by Altesse, Gamay, and Pinot Noir. Damien works organically with manual harvesting and a minimal-touch philosophy in the field. He conducts all work by hand and pays close attention to each parcel through the growing season.
Winemaking
Whites receive direct pressing followed by overnight settling before transferring to barrel for fermentation. Reds undergo semi-carbonic maceration lasting one to three weeks with no punching down or pumping over. All wines spend time in barrel with no additions during aging. No sulfur is used at any stage, and the wines are bottled unfiltered. The result is described as crystal clear, pure, and precise, with mineral tension rather than weight.
The Wines
The Mon Blanc range covers multiple expressions of Chasselas and Altesse: Mon Blanc, Mon Blanc Orangé (a skin-macerated version), Mon Blanc des Alpes, and Mon Blanc de la Haute. The Ton Rouge range includes Gamay and Pinot Noir bottlings vinified separately to highlight each variety. All wines are made in tiny quantities and are released without added sulfur.
