Jean-Baptiste Souillard
Northern Rhône Valley, France.
Available nationwide.
Jean-Baptiste Souillard is a young, talented micro-négociant making waves in the Northern Rhône. He works out of a tiny, medieval cellar in the Ardèche hills above Andance (a sleepy hamlet half-way between Tournon and Ampuis). JBS (as we like to call him), comes from winemaking stock but instead of joining the family business, he chose to study and travel, racking up experience in Australia and New Zealand before returning to France, spending pivotal time at Château Latour in Bordeaux and Comte Armand in Pommard (where he worked with a young Benjamin Leroux). It was while in Burgundy that Souillard began to lament his home region’s tendency to bury its plethora of exciting lieux-dits in favour of large regional blends.
By 2014, JBS started working with Jean-Luc Colombo as a consultant oenologist. This would prove another critical role as he gained confidence and grew contacts to launch a micro-production négoce operation where he would “follow the Cistercian method. One parcel = one wine.”
JBS is a champion of new lieux-dits discovered within untapped, old-vine sites on the Rhône’s têtes de coteaux—or ‘the top of the hills’. For reds he prefers late-ripening sites, so the fruit can attain full maturity with plenty of freshness. In Crozes, for example, Souillard has specifically sought out such hillside parcels on granite in the northern communes. His connection with the tiny sub-sections means he makes 11 Syrah cuvées, each with their own distinct character. Even his Vin de France whites are picked early for freshness from cool, rocky vineyards and show much more expressive fruit than you’d expect for the level.
JBS favours what the French call vins de garde—or wines to age. In general, his Syrah are the antithesis of the current trend for simple, easy-drinking vin de soif, a style he believes can be made anywhere and by anyone. In the cellar, what may appear contrary to eight years of wine-related study, the winemaking is led by intuition. JBS is a student of the great old-school vignerons of the Northern Rhône. Accordingly, in Souillard’s naturally cold cellars, the reds ferment wild, at their own pace and with a high proportion of whole bunches. Extractions are delicate and considered, and the wines see only minimal sulphur and neutral oak (barrique) aging.
Wine
Viognier
Terroir
Granite- and schist-based hillside, 400+ metres above sea level in Sanilhac, 50-year-old vines
Vineyard
Sanilhac
Winemaking
Hand harvested and whole-bunch pressed. Aged in old, neutral oak for 12-15 months to retain fruit purity.
Marsanne
Terroir
Clay over limestone
Vineyard
Béziers at Capestang, in the Hérault
Winemaking
Whole-bunch pressed, including pressings, to firm up the structure and provide a mouthwatering, phenolic amère character (bitterness). Naturally fermented in old oak and raised for 15 months in the same barrels.
Roussanne
Terroir
Sandstone laced with granite, 50-year-old vines.
Vineyard
Sanilhac, close to the Ardèche gorges.
Winemaking
Whole bunch pressed, including pressings, to firm up the structure and provide a mouthwatering, phenolic amère character (bitterness). Naturally fermented in old oak and raised for 15 months in the same barrels.
Crozes-Hermitage Blanc ‘Le Tout’
Variety
Marsanne
Terroir
White clay, 90-year-old vines
Vineyard
Le Tout, Erôme.
Winemaking
Hand-harvested, sorted and directly pressed, then lightly settled before transferral to older oak barrels for indigenous ferment. Malolactic fermentation completed.
Syrah
Variety
Syrah
Terroir
Clay over sand, 30 and 40 year old vines.
Vineyard
Two parcels in the Drôme
Winemaking
Spontaneous ferment and maceration in stainless steel tank before élevage in old wood (some whole-bunch).
Saint-Joseph Rouge
Variety
Syrah
Terroir
Three sites, mostly granite, average of 30-year-old vines.
Vineyard
Sarras and Andance in the centre and Saint-Pierre de Boeuf in the north, heading towards Ampuis.
Winemaking
Spontaneous ferment and maceration in stainless steel tank before élevage in old wood. Fermented with a large proportion of whole bunches.
Crozes-Hermitage Rouge
Variety
Syrah
Terroir
Two parcels: one on granite soils high up the slope and the second on alluvial soils closer to the river.
Vineyard
Both parcels in Gervans
Winemaking
Almost entirely whole-bunch ferment in stainless steel before élevage for 14 months in old barriques (a minimum of three years and up to ten years old).
Saint-Joseph Rouge ‘Janoune’
Variety
Syrah
Terroir
Granite, hilltop site at 340 metres above sea level, average vine age of 20 years.
Vineyard
Janoune
Winemaking
Fermented entirely as whole bunches and raised for 14 months aged in two mature 225-litre oak casks. Only 500 bottles made each vintage.
Crozes-Hermitage Rouge ‘Les Bâties’
Variety
Syrah
Terroir
Stony red clay, loess and fractured and oxidised granite of Larnage, in a valley on the northern side of the Hermitage hill. Vine age between 60 and 70 years.
Vineyard
Les Bâties
Viticulture
Goblet-pruned
Winemaking
Whole-cluster fermentation, then raised for 14 months in mature casks. Around 600 bottles produced each vintage.
Orders
For all order enquiries please get in touch.