Philippe Chevarin

Vin de France Nantais from Philippe Chevarin

Philippe Chevarin Profile

Quick Facts

Name of Estate	Philippe Chevarin
Region	Loire
Country	France
Proprietor	Philippe Chevarin
Size	5 hectares
Farming	Organic (Not Certified)
Soils	Schist
Grapes grown	Gamay, Melon de Bourgogne, Grolleau, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Cabernet Sauvignon
Fun facts	We started working with Philippe before even meeting him since he sold some grapes to Pierre-O Bonhomme and René Mosse!

We started working with Philippe before even meeting him since he sold some grapes to Pierre-O Bonhomme and René Mosse!

Name of Estate	Philippe Chevarin
Region	Loire
Country	France
Proprietor	Philippe Chevarin
Size	5 hectares
Farming	Organic (Not Certified)
Soils	Schist
Grapes grown	Gamay, Melon de Bourgogne, Grolleau, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Cabernet Sauvignon
Fun facts	We started working with Philippe before even meeting him since he sold some grapes to Pierre-O Bonhomme and René Mosse!

Get to know
Philippe Chevarin

producer profile 11.07.2019

Philippe Chevarin Producer Profile

In a past life, Philippe Chevarin was an audio engineer. Starting as a musician, he eventually shifted his interests to the technical aspects of sound, After reading a few books on the subject, Philippe started gigging with local bands. Completely self taught, this 23 year career would see him working with unknown noise-bands to more famous acts like Vanessa Paradis. Originally from the Southwest, Philippe moved to <glossary title="707">Nantes</glossary> after meeting his future wife. Here he met her childhood friend Cécile Argondico, who just so happens to be married to <a href="http://louisdressner.com/producers/clos%20du%20tue-boeuf">Thierry Puzelat</a>. Meeting Thierry fueled Philippe's already blossoming love affair with wine, and coincided with an increasing disillusionment with the business side of the music industry. Engineering gave Philippe a lot of downtime, so he began studying <glossary title="1103">viticulture</glossary> and <glossary title="422">oenology</glossary>. This eventually landed him at a two year stage with Jacques and Agnes Carroget at <a href="http://zrswines.com/wine-producer/domaine-de-la-paonnerie/">Domaine de la Paonnerie</a>. From this experience Philippe was confident he wanted become a <glossary title="1089">vigneron</glossary>, and asked Jacques to help him find vines.  Starting with two <glossary title="523">hectares</glossary> in 2014 (the grapes from this <glossary title="1109">vintage</glossary> were sold to <a href="http://louisdressner.com/producers/pierre-olivier%20bonhomme">Pierre-O Bonhomme</a> and <a href="http://louisdressner.com/producers/agn%C3%A8s%20et%20ren%C3%A9%20mosse">René Mosse</a>), Philippe now finds himself with about five <glossary title="523">hectares</glossary> of vines. Two thirds of the production consists of <glossary title="646">Melon de Bourgogne</glossary>, with <glossary title="478">Gamay</glossary>, <glossary title="513">Grolleau</glossary> and a bit or <glossary title="217">Cabernet Sauvignon</glossary> rounding out the lineup. The wines are <glossary title="185">bottled</glossary> as <glossary title="1092">Vin de France</glossary>, but would fall under <glossary term="Muscadet Coteaux de la Loire" title="1338">Muscadet-Coteaux-de-la-Loire</glossary> for the whites and <glossary title="346">Coteaux d'Ancenis</glossary> for the reds if under the <glossary title="113">appellation</glossary> system.  The vines are worked <glossary title="746">organically</glossary>, and in <glossary title="413">Ecocert</glossary> <glossary title="332">conversion</glossary>. Philippe is the first to admit he is completely new to winemaking, and is still learning his craft. From his first <glossary title="1109">vintage</glossary> in 2015, he aims to make wines as simply as possible. All the wines are <glossary title="1104">vinified</glossary> in <glossary title="445">fiberglass</glossary> <glossary title="1140">tanks</glossary> and go through <glossary title="622">malo</glossary>. So far he has succeeded in not adding any <glossary title="993">sulfur</glossary> at any point during winemaking or <glossary title="185">bottling</glossary>, but is not against it if he feels the wines will benefit from it.

interview 11.07.2019

An interview with Philippe Chevarin from 2017

This interview with Philippe Chevarin took place over Skype in April, 2017. You aren't from an agricultural background right?  Not at all. I used to be an audio engineer. I would go on tour with bands and singers doing live sound.  No studio work? I worked in studios a bit but ended up being really focused on live music.  What kind of music? It went from noisy, dirty rock n' roll to larger acts like Vanessa Paradis.  How did you end up an audio engineer? I started as a musician. When I realized I wasn't good enough to ever make a living at it, I shifted my focus to the technical side of sound. I read some books and learned everything on my own. How long did this first career last? From 1991 to 2015.  So what made you change paths and start making wine? I'd done the rounds with my job. Growing meant doing bigger productions... I was really turned off by the business side of bigger show and knew it wasn't for me in the long term. So I decided it was time for a change. One idea was to open a wine bar with my wife, because I was already completely in love with it. But is just so happens she is childhood friends with Thierry Puzelat's wife Cécile. Through Thierry I was introduced to Pierre-O Bonhomme, René Mosse... It was inspiring.  Because I had a lot of downtime with work, I decided to study <glossary title="1103">viticulture</glossary> and <glossary title="422">oenology</glossary> on the side. This placed me in a two year stage at Domaine de la Paonnerie, about 30 minutes from <glossary title="707">Nantes</glossary>. After two years with Jacques and Agnès, I knew I wanted to be a <glossary title="1089">vigneron</glossary>. And since I'd gotten used to that area, I asked them to help me find vines close by. Did you move from Nantes? No, we still live in <glossary title="707">Nantes</glossary>. It's about a 35 minute drive.  Tell me about the vines you were able to acquire.  It was a bit of a particular situation. The vines had been abandoned for three years. The <glossary title="1089">vigneron</glossary> next to them <glossary title="328">treated</glossary> them once a year to make sure they wouldn't get sick and affect his own vines, but other than that not much was happening.  Basically the guy was taking care of them disappeared overnight. He didn't pay for his rentals, there was a trial... Anyhow, when I took them over they were a little bit damaged. But by hanging out in the village, I started meeting farmers and some offered me more land.  So how much land did you start with, and where are you at today?  I started with 2.8 <glossary title="523">hectares</glossary> of <glossary title="646">Melon de Bourgogne</glossary>, <glossary title="478">Gamay</glossary> and <glossary title="217">Cabernet Sauvignon</glossary>. I took those over in March, 2014. That year I sold my grapes to Pierre-O Bonhomme and René Mosse. 2015 was my first <glossary title="1109">vintage</glossary> working the vines full time and making my own wine.  So how much land are you working now, and what is the breakdown grape wise? I'm at 5.3 <glossary title="523">hectares</glossary> now. I'm buying 40 <glossary title="1208">ares</glossary> of vines this year, and the rest is in <glossary title="440">fermage</glossary>; I give them some wine and they let me work their land. Essentially it's people who care about keeping their vines alive but can't work them themselves. They don't want the vines ripped out.  As far as my surface, I'm at around 2/3 in <glossary title="646">Melon</glossary>, 1/3 of <glossary title="478">Gamay</glossary> and a tiny bit of <glossary title="217">Cabernet Sauvignon</glossary> and <glossary title="513">Grolleau</glossary>. The soils consist principally of <glossary title="933">schist</glossary>, <glossary title="842">quartz</glossary> and <glossary title="910">sandstone</glossary>. These are really "vineyard soils". Nothing else can grow in them. How old are the vines? I have two mains <glossary title="1133">plots</glossary>. In the first, the oldest vines were planted in 1969, but most are from the 80's. For the the second <glossary title="1133">plot</glossary>, I've got some <glossary title="478">Gamay</glossary> from the 50's. And I'm about to get some <glossary title="646">Melon de Bourgogne</glossary> planted in 1948. Can you break down the wines you make? The <glossary title="646">Melon</glossary> is called "Le Souffle". It's a <glossary title="168">blend</glossary> of all my <glossary title="760">parcels</glossary>; I don't have enough juice or space in my <glossary title="254">cellar</glossary> to do otherwise. I do a <glossary title="392">direct</glossary>, <glossary title="964">slow-press</glossary> with the old <glossary title="935">screw-press</glossary> I own, it takes about four hours. <glossary title="622">Malo</glossary> happens and so far I have succeeded in not adding any <glossary title="993">sulfur</glossary>. It worked my first two <glossary title="1109">vintages</glossary> so we'll see. Then I have a <glossary title="478">Gamay</glossary> <glossary title="871">rosé</glossary> called "La Goulée" but I'm going to change the name because Benoit Courault also makes a wine with that name. But that's what it's called for now. It's also <glossary title="392">direct-press</glossary>, and ends up as a fairly colored <glossary title="871">rosé</glossary>.  My <glossary title="478">Gamay</glossary> is called "Les Sentinelles", which is a more ample style, with nice <glossary title="990">structure</glossary> and <glossary title="1010">tannin</glossary>. In 2015 I made it <glossary title="1124">whole-cluster</glossary>, so it has a <glossary title="942">semi-carbonic</glossary> profile. In 2016, I made it half <glossary title="1124">whole-cluster</glossary>, half <glossary title="378">destemmed</glossary>.  Then there is a <glossary title="513">Grolleau</glossary> called "L'Oublie", which is in tiny quantities.  Then there is a <glossary title="217">Cabernet Sauvignon</glossary> <glossary title="778">pétillant naturel</glossary> called "Coup d'Pouce" that I <glossary title="521">harvest</glossary> with my friends and neighbors.  Finally there is a <glossary title="478">Gamay</glossary> <glossary title="778">pétillant naturel</glossary> called "La Houle", made half with <glossary title="478">Gamay</glossary> <glossary title="">Teinturier</glossary> (<glossary title="478">Gamay</glossary> with red pulp) and half <glossary title="478">Gamay</glossary> Noir à Jus Blanc. I decided to take out the <glossary title="1017">Teinturier</glossary> from "Les Sentinelles" because it gave the wine an animal quality I wasn't into. I'm really happy because having the red pulp gives the wine a great color. So I think I'll stick with this.  I’ll admit that I’m really new at this and still experimenting with <glossary title="1104">vinification</glossary>. I don’t how if the way I make wine today will always be the same.  What’s the work in the vines like? I’m <glossary title="332">converting</glossary> the vines to <glossary title="746">organics</glossary>, and waiting to get <glossary title="260">certified</glossary> by <glossary title="413">Ecocert</glossary>. Whenever I get some new land, it's immediately <glossary title="332">converted</glossary>.  I work the soils with a tractor. We only use <glossary title="333">copper</glossary> and <glossary title="993">sulfur</glossary> in the vineyards, and last year I experimented with some essential oils. This year I will try some <glossary title="160">biodynamic</glossary> preparations and see how it goes.  Was it always in your plan to work "naturally"?  I can’t envision any other way. It’s a matter of personal taste: I was drawn to wine through <glossary title="708">natural wine</glossary>, and that’s what I want to drink and what I want to make.  But at the same time, if I feel I need to add <glossary title="993">sulfur</glossary>, I’ll do it. There is an economic reality to what we do, and as a young <glossary title="1089">vigneron</glossary> who suffered a very rough second <glossary title="1109">vintage</glossary> (2016), I can’t permit myself to have an unsellable product. Your wines are all intentionally declassified as Vin de France. Can you elaborate on that? If I were under the <glossary title="113">appellation</glossary> system, the whites would fall under <glossary title="1338">Muscadet des Coteaux de la Loire</glossary> and the reds would be <glossary title="346">Coteaux D’Ancenis</glossary>. Entering an <glossary title="113">appellation</glossary> takes time and costs money. Plus I’m making an <glossary title="913">sans souffre</glossary> <glossary title="646">Melon de Bourgogne</glossary> that goes through <glossary title="622">malo</glossary>, it’s not even worth trying to present them to the panel.  My neighbor Jacques Février, who also works <glossary title="708">naturally</glossary>, had approached the <glossary title="113">appellation</glossary> about being more open to trying wines like ours. A woman came to his house and started criticizing the wild grass in his <glossary title="760">parcels</glossary>! If it’s to hear shit like that, it’s not worth it for me.  However, we have mobilized with a group of like-minded growers and started an association called Pinards et Jus. We take our wines by boat from Oudon to <glossary title="707">Nantes</glossary> and organize a tasting there. The goal is to promote what we are doing in the region. All of us work <glossary title="746">organically</glossary> and “<glossary title="708">naturally</glossary>” in the <glossary title="254">cellar</glossary>, and only one of us is in the <glossary title="113">appellation</glossary>. He’s fought hard to be in the <glossary title="113">appellation</glossary>, and is really trying to shape the tasting panel into understanding the characteristics of our wines, particularly ones without added <glossary title="993">sulfur</glossary>.  So there is SOME movement. And the truth is, if we want to see change it will depend on our actions. Nothing is going to change on its own. Are you from the Loire? No, no, I'm from the Southwest. I came to <glossary title="707">Nantes</glossary> in 2002 after a 15 year stint in <glossary title="178">Bordeaux</glossary>. I had been planning to move anyway, but I met someone from there and that was a good excuse as any.  Anything you’d like to add? I often say that my goal, at least for the time being, is to make simple wine. I’m still learning how to do this, but all I want is to do the best possible work in the vineyards, to give them as much life as possible to in turn pick beautiful grapes. I want to make a simple, approachable wine with the <glossary title="664">least amount of intervention</glossary> possible.

harvest report 13.09.2018

2018 Phillipe Chevarin Harvest Report

<img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Sep_18//7f/e5/7fe58e1de7767cef59bfb1f9ec502d40.jpg" /> 2018 is another year where we narrowly avoided disaster. On May 1st, there was a drastic drop in temperature at night, resulting in some frozen buds but no real damage. On May 26th, we suffered a <glossary title="1136">hail</glossary> storm that touched about half of our land. The damage was mostly on the leaves and shoots, but again we were relatively spared. It mostly caused stress for the vine and the <glossary title="1089">vigneron</glossary>. The rest of the season went well despite a very strong <glossary title="1137">mildew</glossary> pressure and lack of water. The vines have compensated for the last two <glossary title="1109">vintages</glossary> of minuscule crops; grapes were beautiful and plentiful, almost too plentiful in certain sectors. We began harvesting on August 31st with a <glossary title="760">parcel</glossary> of <glossary title="646">Melon</glossary> destined for a <glossary title="792">pied de cuve</glossary> that would help kickstart the <glossary title="441">fermentations</glossary> of future juices. <glossary title="521">Harvest</glossary> itself took place under the hot sun. The <glossary title="1129">yields</glossary> are superior to what I'd estimated, it was almost a challenge to get everything into the <glossary title="1140">vats</glossary>! It's a first for me since starting in 2015, and I have to say I'm thrilled! We finished on October 6th with the <glossary title="217">Cabernet Sauvignon</glossary> under a dramatic downpour! The <glossary title="441">fermentations</glossary> have gone smoothly, with the <glossary title="622">malos</glossary> happening quickly, usually before the <glossary title="87">alcoholic fermentation</glossary> has finished. Fortunately this was without a spike in <glossary title="1116">volatile acidity</glossary>. In the end I am really happy with the <glossary title="646">Melon</glossary>: I was able to <glossary title="1104">vinify</glossary> individual <glossary title="760">parcels</glossary> for the first time and I will wait for winter to decide the <glossary title="168">blends</glossary>. The <glossary title="871">rosé</glossary>, from a <glossary title="478">Gamay</glossary> <glossary title="1017">Teinturier</glossary> base, will be quite colored. Three <glossary title="1140">vats</glossary> of <glossary title="478">Gamay</glossary> were <glossary title="1104">vinified</glossary>, all quite different. Again, I will wait for winter to decide on <glossary title="168">blends</glossary>. I will likely <glossary title="185">bottle</glossary> everything in March.

harvest report 11.10.2017

2017 Phillipe Chevarin Harvest Report

In 2017, the vines decided to grow very precociously. Following the catastrophic 2016 (<glossary title="1135">frost</glossary> and <glossary title="1137">mildew</glossary>), the buds were rather promising in terms of quantity. And then, a late April <glossary title="1135">frost</glossary> decimated 80% of my future crop. I am lucky to be part of a collective of likeminded <glossary title="1089">vignerons</glossary> called Pinards et Jus d'Ancenis. We are all close to each other geographically and philosophically. For the last five years, we boat down the <glossary title="603">Loire</glossary> with our wines from Oudon to <glossary title="707">Nantes</glossary> on in an effort to make a larger public discover our <glossary title="1026">terroirs</glossary>. This association also permits us to exchange greatly on our practices, to share work equipment and to not feel alone when faced with difficult situations. Through this solidarity, we were able to collectively able to get grapes from a few <glossary title="760">parcels</glossary> that were supposed to be torn out. We started working them in May and maintained them up to <glossary title="521">harvest</glossary>. The <glossary title="521">harvest</glossary> snuck up on us, and arrived very early. I started on August 31st, 15 days in advance. My neighbor Jacques Février and I shared a <glossary title="521">harvest</glossary> team, and we began with the <glossary title="646">Melon de Bourgogne</glossary>. It was very complicated to organize everything, as we had to juggle between the ripe grapes on the <glossary title="760">parcels</glossary> that hadn't frozen, the less ripe grapes on <glossary title="1135">frosted</glossary> vines (sometimes within the same <glossary title="760">parcel</glossary>!) the solidarity <glossary title="760">parcels</glossary> we were <glossary title="521">harvesting</glossary> collectively with other <glossary title="1089">vignerons</glossary> and grapes that were offered to us at the last minute we ended up buying. It was an extremely difficult three weeks both mentally and physically, which in the end resulted in a little more grapes than last year. But the quality was very heterogeneous, and thus harder to <glossary title="1104">vinify</glossary>. I'm rather satisfied with the final result, even if some small <glossary title="1140">vats</glossary> have proven challenging. I continue to learn in this third, atypical <glossary title="1109">vintage</glossary>. <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Sep_18//f9/b0/f9b051a11e77b16e800c42028545ce48.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Sep_18//66/ff/66ff44c834482ee1bfd3968ea1c516c0.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Sep_18//08/33/08333e6e6fd63fb949ba99c4e99a8ace.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Sep_18//d8/8a/d88a8e9de71b41d2a7dc5ef95dc1c416.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Sep_18//c2/69/c269aa1d547f2db724d3e3ce8443b1e4.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Sep_18//29/45/29453349777cc231efaef5aeac1367dc.jpg" /> <img src="http://louisdressner.com/uploads/images/article/2019_Sep_18//d0/3c/d03c6cbffd25445cbe406161f9481fcb.jpg" />

producer profile 11.07.2019

Philippe Chevarin Producer Profile

interview 11.07.2019

An interview with Philippe Chevarin from 2017

harvest report 13.09.2018

2018 Phillipe Chevarin Harvest Report

harvest report 11.10.2017

2017 Phillipe Chevarin Harvest Report