Domaine Valma

Valentine and Stéphane Mathieu met in Bordeaux while they were studying wine marketing, but their dream was to make their own wine. After a lengthy and very specific (high altitude and not south-facing, in the increasingly difficult quest for freshness) search, they chanced upon Les Labourons in Fleurie, and it ticked every box. While still at home in Paris, Valentine undertook an agricultural degree and then interned at Champagne producer Chartogne-Taillet. Though the Mathieus' goal was to remain as independent as possible, as a start-up winery they needed plenty of guidance, which they found in the form of Château Thivin and Jacques Néauport, contemporary of Jules Chauvet, aka pretty much the founder of natural wine in Beaujolais and France in general. They now own additional vines in La Madone and La Chapelle des Bois. Given their first vintage was only in 2021, these are incredibly assured, elegant, complex wines made with honesty and impeccable care.