Mas Haut Buis

Who: Olivier Jeantet

Where: La Vacquerie-et-Saint-Martin-de-Castries (Languedoc, France)

What grapes: Grenache, Carignan, Syrah, old Merlot, Chardonnay, Roussanne, Grenache Blanc

How many bottles: ±30,000

Key facts: Olivier has 14-hectares spanning over a dozen individual plots throughout the Larzac highlands. Most his vines are over 70 years old.

Website: http://www.mashautbuis.com/

Instagram: @olivierjeantet

Olivier Jeantet purchased his property, which is comprised of 12 separate vineyard sites, in 1999. In the Larzac, it is rare to have a contiguous plot of vineyards. It makes for an interesting day in the life of a vigneron to visit property winding up and down the valley. You must be part vigneron, part survivalist guide, part race car driver. Olivier was a Rally Car Driver in a previous life so perhaps for him it is just all in a day’s work. The Plateau of the Larzac is located within a UNESCO World Heritage Site with over three millennia of agro-pastoral history. Many of his vineyards are surrounded by almond and olive orchards and history. Check out the Abbey in the photos above dated from the 1st Century CE.

Olivier is self-taught, and as time has progressed he has changed his philosophy on the oak treatment of his wines, preferring less and less. He believes that “80% du travail du vigneron, c’est la vigne et le sol.” He farms organically without the use of pesticides and without the use of herbicides. He uses precise pruning techniques, a 100% manual harvest, all native yeast fermentations in cement tronconic vats, and he bottles unfined and unfiltered. He chose to practice organic farming for personal reasons and for ecological reasons. His sentiment surrounding it rings true for many of us: "Chemical treatments really scared me. To have to dress like an astronaut before going to work in the vineyard and then let your children eat the grapes just cannot work."

Jay and I happened to stumble upon Olivier’s wines when we were in search of his wife, Géraldine Laval. They live and work in city called La Vacquerie-et-Saint-Martin-de-Castries, population 138. We started out being on time, and ended up getting completely turned around in this magnificent tiny town. I like to be early for everything, and knowing that the French are more precise in their timing than the Italians I was worried that we would not be able to meet and taste with Géraldine. Just as we were about to give up we found it, and we had a very pleasant surprise: a double feature. Olivier’s wines were aromatic, elegant, fresh and vibrant. Pretty much all of my favorite things. I was charmed, Jay was charmed, and the deal was sealed by meeting the family dog. We both ended up invading their personal space by needing to visit the WC before heading to Domaine du Pas de l’Escalette. Their joint winery is located off their kitchen. Also wine dogs are very important to us at PWI.

In case you cannot stand it, and you are dying to know more about Olivier’s vineyards, here is a list with age of the vines. I think this might be 10 years outdated, but what’s 10 years when you are farming on property that has a history of agro-pastoral use that is three millennia old?

The 12 plots of the Mas Haut-Buis vineyards are as follows:
Leusière, 40-year old Syrah
En Combes, 40-year old Syrah
Les Abinières, 50-year old Grenache
La Farre, 80-year old Carignan
La Capitelle, 80-year old Carignan
Lauroux-Camp Plos, 13-year old Roussanne
Les Abinières, 13-year old Chardonnay
Lauroux-Camp Plos, 6-year old Chardonnay
Lauroux, 6-year old Chardonnay
Lauroux, 5 year-old White Grenache
Les Grasseries, 12-year old Grenache
Les Airs, 16-year old Merlot

 -az