For a little over 20 years Phillipe Chevarin was an audio engineer, touring the world focused on live music. But as he did more and more large-scale productions, he knew it was time for a change. Living in Nantes with his wife and daughter, he was introduced to Rene Mosse & Pierre Olivier Bonhomme via Thierry Puzelat, a family friend, and he was instantly inspired.

To begin, he was continued to work in music, but he was incredibly fortunate the industry provided him with considerable periods of downtime when not on the road. He enrolled to study viticulture and oenology and took on a two-year placement staging with Jacques and Agnes Carroget of Domaine de la Paonnerie. He was hooked! Jacques became a mentor to Philippe and assisted him in finding old vineyards of his own in the area.

In 2014 Phillippe began working with 2.8 hectares of vines. For this first harvest he sold the fruit to Rene Mosse and Pierre-Olivier Bonhomme. 2015 would be the first vintage he undertook the vineyard work full-time, and the first year processing the grapes and bottling the wine under his own label.

He now works 5.3ha of vines in and around Oudon, this small hamlet is classified as Coteaux d’Ancenis and lies between Nantes and Angers. The soils are a mix of schist, quartz and sandstone, planted to Melon de Bourgogne, Sauvignon Blanc, Gamay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Grolleau. All vineyards Philippe works have been converted to organics and he is in the process of certification by Ecocert. Along with his neighbour Jacques Fevrier, he also works to apply Biodynamic practices and essential oils to the vines, the first year they began this was 2018. Their objective is to do the best possible work in the vineyard, giving life to the soil, which in turn will produce healthy grapes.

Phillipe avoids the use of sulphur, but he is not dogmatic about it and will add homeopathic doses if a cuvee requires it. All fermentation is done via indigenous yeasts. Elevage is in tank and fiberglass only. The wines are bottled on a fruit day when the moon is wanning corresponding with biodynamic practices.

Australia was his first export market in 2017 with wines from the 2016 vintage. Every subsequent year, as the vineyards become healthier and Phillippe learns more, the wines become increasingly more precise, and the demand not only in Europe, but now all around the world, increases.

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The Best Whites for Winter 2019 (The Saturday Paper)

“The vast majority of melon blanc is made as plain white wine: light, simple and acidic. A valued few are made with low yields and intent, resulting in stony, earth driven wines for seafood. And then there’s Le Souffle. Chevarin’s old vines contribute intensity and concentration, but this is still a fairly light bodied wine, true to place. Long slow pressing and the avoidance of sulphur contribute to a fruity profile full of character, with baked apple, golden pear and nougat.” — Leanne Altmann