Olivier was born and raised south of Bordeaux, in Cognac. He studied enology in Montagne St-Emilion, focusing on biodynamic farming and cut his teeth working for such luminaries as Domaine de Chassorney, Elian da Ros and Domaine Leroy. In 2004 he was lured into Spain by Telmo Rodriguez to help him convert his vineyards to biodynamics. By 2006 he had started his first project in Rioja.

Coming from France, Olivier has an innate sense of terroir. Unlike many of his peers in Rioja, he bases his cuvées not on political boundaries or the length of barrel aging but on terroir. He believes in a quality hierarchy inspired by Burgundy with generic Appellation and Village wines at the base and Premier and Grand cru wines at the top. This is how to best understand what Olivier is doing in Rioja, rather than the traditional Crianza, Reserva, Gran Reserva model. As Olivier has steadily and carefully grown his production, he’s been hampered by the high prices for land and grapes in Rioja. As a result, he ventured into Arlanza; a relatively new DO located between Rioja and Ribera del Duero. In Arlanza, he found high-elevation vineyards of Tempranillo (some quite ancient) intermixed with a scattering of Garnacha and Albillo. This mountain fruit is potentially sterner stuff than what Olivier had grown accustomed to in Rioja, but it is remarkably vibrant and complex in his hands.

In keeping with his education and avocation, nearly all of Olivier’s vineyard sources – whether owned or leased – are farmed organically with biodynamic practices. The fruit is harvested by hand, and each variety is fermented separately. Depending on the source, it may be partially destemmed or fermented whole cluster. Fermentations are with indigenous yeasts. Macerations are gentle and short. Aging takes place in stainless steel or cement tanks, foudre, and barrel. SO2 is kept to a minimum, usually added only before bottling.
These wines represent a novel approach that relies almost entirely on the specificity of site and the transparency of his winemaking necessary to capture it.

This profile and tasting notes were edited from the European Cellars website, along with the pictures used. For more information please visit: European Cellars.

Onda Brava is a partnership between Dani Rozman of La Onda and Leonardo Erazo of Rogue Vine / A Los Viñateros Bravos. Dani and Leo have been producing wines in Argentina and Chile since 2014, brought together by a common interest in organic farming and Itata’s terroir.

This collaborative effort is focused on the ancient, unirrigated and ungrafted vines in the hills of Itata. They explore sites that highlight the granitic soil and maritime influence that makes this region unique, and seek to make wines with intensity and freshness. The winemaking is very simple, and they use cement tanks as well as open Rauli vats. Grapes are foot-trodden as well as hand-destemmed in zarandas (the large bamboo mat-like sieves that are extended on top of the vats) utilizing traditional winemaking techniques. The wines are produced on a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean and the town of Cobquecura. 

BOWLER E-Zine Issue 2 | Q1 2021: Granite Connections: Itata and Sierra Foothills - A conversation with Dani Rozman of Onda Brava and La Onda

Oro de Coyame Sotol is produced using Dasylirion wheeleri from Aldama, Chihuahua. Maestro Sotolero Gerardo Ruelas. Ruelas is one of the few heritage sotoleros in Chihuahua, carrying on a tradition going back three generations in his family.

The sotol plant, known informally as the desert spoon, was harvested to create a unique spirit that was popular during U.S. Prohibition. After legal alcohol production returned stateside, however, sotol’s popularity dropped off.

Sotol is a distilled spirit of Mexican origin sourced from the family of Asparagaceae; the genus Dasylirion and several species, most commonly: Dasylirion wheeleri, (commonly known as Desert Spoon or, in Spanish, sotol, sereque, cucharilla, or palmilla), a plant that grows in the Chihuahua desert of northern Mexico, New Mexico, Arizona, and west and central Texas.

Sotol liquor is a Mexican drink that is known as the state spirit of Chihuahua, Durango and Coahuila. Sotol has its own appellation of origin since 2002, and may be produced only in Chihuahua, Coahuila and Durango.

The Chihuahuan indigenous people, the Rarámuri, fermented sotol juice into a beer-like alcoholic beverage as early as 800 years ago. In the 16th century, Spanish colonists introduced European distillation techniques to produce a spirit.

The Desert Spoon takes approximately 15 years to mature and yields only one bottle of sotol per plant. It typically grows on rocky slopes in the Chihuahuan desert grassland between 3,000 and 6,500 feet above sea level. Unlike agave, which flowers only once in its lifetime, sotols produce a flower stalk every few years. Once the plant matures, it is harvested like agave plants. The outer leaves are removed to reveal the center core, which is taken back to the distillery. The core can then be cooked and/or steamed, shredded, fermented, and distilled.

They’re flowering succulent plants in the asparagus family, with long, thin, spiny leaves that make the plant overall look like a spiny sea urchin. Varieties of sotol grow throughout Northern Mexico, commonly found in the deserts of Chihuahua or forests of Oaxaca, but the range of wild sotol plants also creeps into the U.S. in Arizona, New Mexico and Texas. As a result, sotol is potentially both a Mexican and American spirit, though the tradition of sotol production in Mexico goes back much farther into the past.

Thank you to importer Louis/Dressner for this producer profile: 

(Click here for more on Oupia on Louis/Dressner's website)

Everyone talks about the new quality of wines from the Languedoc. For us, this doesn't mean the ubiquitous varietal bottlings from irrigated flat vineyards but the wonderful wines coming from the best hillside vineyard sites in AOCs like Minervois, Corbières and Coteaux-du-Languedoc. The Château d'Oupia is one of the best.

André Iché inherited an impressive 13th century castle and a large estate in the barren Minervois region. Iché was never a member of his village coop, tended his very old vines and made his wines but sold everything in bulk to local négociants. One day, a Burgundian winemaker happened to be in Oupia, tasted Iché's wines, and was so enthused that he convinced Iché to bottle and market his production.

André expanded his vineyard holdings and started vinifying several cuvées of Minervois of his best grapes, the "Cuvée des Barons" and "Nobilis", aged in new oak barrels. He rebuilt a cellar, and, after much deliberation,  bought and cleaned up some overgrown and steep terraces that had been abandoned since the late 19th century.

The "Minervois Tradition" is 50% Carignan (from vineyards up to 100 years old), 40% Syrah and 10% Grenache. It is aromatic, full and densely colored, with a long finish of dark fruits. The wine is elegant and balanced — it is both enjoyable to drink young and can age 5-7 years. "Cuvée des Barons" and "Nobilis" are 60% Syrah and 40% Carignan, from a selection of old vines in the best plots, and are aged in Bordeaux barriques for 20 months. They are slower to evolve than the "Tradition" and exhibit more elegance and restraint, but similar dark berries and spicy aromas.

Robert Parker has consistently praised this estate and rated the wine a "best buy." He wrote: "Château d'Oupia has produced the ideal bistro wine. Dark, ruby-colored, the wine is wonderfully clean and pure, with an exuberant personality, and gobs of rich, peppery, red and black fruit...Bravo to proprietor André Iché!"

André passed away in late 2007. His daugher, Marie-Pierre, currently runs the estate with the help of Fabrice Lopez and many old timers who know the land like the back of their hands.