Meet Olivier Cohen
After working with some of the top growers in the French wine scene such as Philippe Valette in the Mâconnais, Thierry Allemand in Cornas, Frederic Rivaton in Latour de France and the Arena Family in Corsica, Olivier Cohen took over Bernard Boubal ́s vineyards in the village of Argelliers in January 2014 and produced his first vintage the same year. The domain was already in great shape. Bernard was one of the first ones in the village to follow organic principles in the vineyard. The domain encompasses 7.5 ha of different red varieties including Cinsault, Grenache, Syrah, Merlot, Carignan, Mourvèdre and Cabernet Sauvignon, divided in multiple blocks around the village of Argelliers in Languedoc Roussillon. This tiny village is located 10 min away from famous domaines such as La Grange des Pères and Montcalmes. Located in a special climatic zone in the Hérault department, this village benefits from cool summer nights, allowing the grapes to slowly ripen. Olivier’s vines are on average 30-40 years old and planted on clay and limestone soils.
The freshness of the area, combined with a respectful viticulture allows him to have moderate yields at around 30hl/ha, but most importantly, to produce fresh wines. Since 2017 (spurred on by a terrible frost episode in his own vines) Olivier has started to source fruit from great organic growers in the area to produce collaborative wines. These wines are bottled under the ‘Déferlante” label, which translate the idea of a new project! In terms of vinification, each grape variety is vinified separately, with whole clusters and no additives used during the process.
