Hervé Villemade

3/19/19 -

Since I began visiting the Loire Valley in 2011, I have always held high esteem for Hervé Villemade. He is a focused, professional winemaker, and an open-minded and fun-loving colleague and friend. His wines have both defined and defied the Cheverny appellation for me, teaching me of tradition and then occasionally throwing it out the window.

Year after year, I have found myself returning to the Villemade line-up when I feel like pure-fruited, honest, un-manipulated wines. You could call them "natural," but I've always liked this quote of his, from an interview with Jules Dressner:

"I am not a fan of categorizations: I make wine that I want to make, and that's that. As far as I'm concerned, that means making wine from clean grapes and nothing else. Once that's done, I filter because the wines need it. I add a little sulfur at bottling (and let's not forget that I'm highly allergic!) because the wines need it. If they don't need it, which does occasionally happen, then I don't add any sulfur. It's as simple as that. I drink wine everyday, and a lot of it is my own, so it's in my best interest that they suit my tastes!"

Hervé Villemade hails from a farming family that originally settled in Celettes, in the Loire valley, in the 1930’s. Hervé’s father took over in the 60’s, focusing the polyculture on vines, vegetables and grains.

Wines were bottled under the Villemade name since the 1970’s and in the late 90’s, Hervé and his sister Isabelle took over, taking the estate organic, and only using natural treatments in the vineyard. Grapes are hand harvested and sorted, juice ferments with indigenous yeasts, and the wines typically receive a small dose of sulfur at bottling.

The farming really is impeccable here, treatments are only used when necessary, and limited to sulfur and copper only. Otherwise, grass is allowed to grow, and wild herbs and flowers contribute to biodiversity. Most of the vineyards are tranquil, enclosed plots, surrounded by forest and shrubbery.

Today's wines are all tasting great. They are full of life, acid driven, terroir expressive, and just plain fun to drink. Some are perfect for the moment, others have potential for short or long-term aging. We hope you enjoy Hervé's wines as much we do!

****COME MEET HERVÉ VILLEMADE and TASTE HIS WINES at CHAMBERS STREET this THURSDAY, 3/21 from 5-7pm!**** also, keep your eyes out for the return of the quaffable Sauvignon Blanc, arriving soon!   Eben Lillie