Les Vignes d'Olivier
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Country of Origin: France
Location: Hérault, Languedoc
People: Olivier Cohen, Owner & Winemaker
Viticulture: Practicing Biodynamic
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Instagram: @les_vignes_d_olivier
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Sprudge Wine: The Wines of Olivier Cohen: Burt Reynolds of the Argelliers
Based in the Languedoc, Olivier Cohen is a young winemaker making wine in the small area behind Montpellier called the Hérault. It is here, at Les Vignes d’Olivier, where he makes an absolutely stunning rosé wine as well as a number of interesting red wines.
Originally from Nice, Olivier used to sell wine rather than make it. After graduating from law school, Olivier worked at the well-known natural wine bar La Part des Anges, as well as nearby Vinivore. Developing a passion for natural wine and determined to learn how to make his own, Olivier left Nice and travelled to Corsica to work with stellar winemaker Antoine Arena, and soon Domaine Valette (a leading winemaker in the Maçon), Frederick Rivaton in Roussillon and finally with the legendary Thierry Allemand in Cornas.
He finally started work in his own vineyard in 2013 in the Languedoc, acquiring the winery and the vines from retiring winemaker Bernard Boubal. Throughout seven hectares of different terroir, Olivier cultivates Merlot, Syrah, Cinsault, Grenache, Carignan, and Cabernet Sauvignon. When his vineyard suffered big losses in 2018 due to mildew, Olivier released several cuvées of zero-zero, non-vintage négoçiant wines under his project "La Déferlante." Born from a combination of low yields and Olivier's propensity for mixed-vintage blending, this improvisational project proved to be a happy near-accident, including the Déferlante rosé - the wine that initially turned heads in France and New York.
“It’s not always an objective, to assemble vintages,” he says. “It’s not just a decision of taste. It’s also a vinification decision. If we want to skip filtration—and more marked interventions—we should leave ourselves the liberty and the choice elsewhere.”
- Olivier Cohen, "The Wines of Olivier Cohen: Burt Reynolds of the Argelliers" by Aaron Ayscough