BMany people came to hear it. Mathieu Faucoulanche, from La Pépinière de Puymège located in Dordogne, gave a short course on truffle oaks, where the famous melanosporum grows. This truffle enthusiast was invited to Fours by Sandrine Haure and Mickaël Drots from Château l'Haur du Chay. Both planted 250 oak trees on one hectare of recently uprooted vines.
Mathieu Faucoulanche, truffle specialist.
M.M.
The first truffles should be harvested within five years with maximum production expected in 20 years. To achieve this result, several prerequisites are necessary. “The most important thing is the soil, the truffle likes poor, well-drained soil,” says the specialist. The truffle is the star of gastronomy, and also of the terrain where it is found. “She doesn't like competition, she needs clean, pastured or maintained land. »
Mycorrhization rate
The nurseryman does not sell just any oak. The acorns from oaks planted “in truffle-producing soils” are first stored in a cold room. Then, in spring, they are planted and their roots are mycorrhized; that is to say, a union takes place between the roots and the spores of mushrooms. An independent inspector comes to test the batches, and if the mycorrhization rate is satisfactory, they are put on sale.
To have truffles, Sandrine Haure will also have to prune her trees. “They must not exceed two meters; by stressing the top of the tree, we develop the root system and that is what interests us. » To harvest the precious mushroom, Sandrine Haure can call on a service provider, train a dog or use a wand to chase flies under the trees, where the burns are, in other words the grassless area where the truffles. If flies fly away, it means there are truffles underground, it seems. Production lasts from December to March and it must be sold quickly.
Martial Maury
The recently planted plot of truffle oaks.
Mathieu Faucoulanche believes that “truffles provide additional income” to winegrowers. Yields, administrative aspects, sales channel… he answered many questions. In the current context, many meeting participants seemed interested in the experience. For Nicolas Carreau, president of the Blaye Côtes de Blaye union, it is “a complementary solution but which requires investment. » Isabelle Chéty, of Château Bellevue, “has been thinking about it for a while”. She can imagine selling her truffles and wines to restaurateurs. Cyril Noël, from Château Haut Saint-Germain, asks himself the question: “I was going for olives, but why not truffles, we are looking for solutions, but it is not easy to move from monoculture to polyculture. » Cyril Bailan of Château la Motte Bailan thinks he can have a product “with high added value”.
For Mathieu Faucoulanche, wine growers will be perfect truffle growers: “They have the right soils, know how to prune, know the weather.” Perhaps, in fifteen or twenty years, the Blaye market will also be famous for its truffles.
