Ludovic Engelvin


— About —

THE BEGINNING

Ludovic started his career for wine by first studing viticulture and enology in France then working vintages in the south of France, Spain and the Loire Valley, where he was fortunate to work with Didier Dagueneau. Oddly and something frankly I found charming was that he didn’t make a big deal of this and he feels everyone else likes to talk about it but he’s far more interested to talk about his terrior of his native region, Gard.

Before diving into more winemaking he decided to take a sommelier’s role in the South of France, following which he opened up a wine store in Nimes. After selling this after two years he began making wine for other people, 2010 being the first vintage back as a full time winemaker.

 

THE DOMAINE & PHILOSOPHY

Ludovic grew up in the region so he said it was only natural for him to make his first wines from his home. His first vintage under his own label was in 2013 made in a small cellar in Vic-le-Fesq. My initial confusion with understanding his wines was all the different classifications. Some have Vin de France, some Vin du Pay Gard and he tells me earlier vintages were labelled AOC Coteaux aux Languedoc. As I try to understand he explains “I had a disagreement with the appellation”. This is due to his passion for “NO SYRAH in my wines” and at the time this was a legal requirement for the AOC, so from that point on he has de-classified.

If I said the wines were ‘natural’ it would be perhaps be questioned by the extremists of this ‘genre’ as much to my approval he uses sulphur at bottling but the rest of his philosophy is a-tuned to low impact farming and minimal intervention in the winery. He’s a close friend of Didier Barral (Domaine Leon Barral) who has been a mentor in this style of approach.

 

THE GARD

Ludovic is one of the few rising stars keen to showcase this region can produce superb wines alongside domaine’s such as Roc d’Anglade. Known as the Languedoc Gardois It sits on the NW border of the Costieres de Nimes AOP in the South West extremity of the Rhone Valley which was formerly part of the Gard but promoted to it’s own appellation in 1989. Note the Vin du Pays Gard is under the Languedoc department. Soil is a mixture of Sandstone, Carlcare amongst the classic garrigue of this region.

 

VITICULTURE + WINEMAKING

He owns the Clos Serres Cru of 3 hectares, some of which as planted in 1950, the rest at least 30 years old. The rest of the wines are made from sourcing fruit from low yielding (25 to 30 hects) vines owned by growers. Ludovic tells me he farms organically but doesn’t want the certification. No mechanical intervention in the vineyards to avoid compacting and he doesn’t plough/turn over the soil between the vines, encouraging local vegetation, much to the delight of his sheep which help manage this in the winter along with ‘naturally’ fertilising the soil. Of course all grapes are hand picked.

Natural ferments, all in tank (combination of fiberglass and steel), no destemming from the 2017 vintage. Pump overs but just to wet the cap. Pressed off to tank or barrel (note from 2017 vintage he won’t use any oak for any cuvee). Racked by gravity. Bottled unfined and unfiltered. 15 mg/L SO2 added at bottling.