Stéphane Yerle: Natural Wine, a Vintage Trend

After working at Alain Brumont, Stéphane Yerle and his wife Cécile—both passionate about winemaking—moved to the Languedoc region and founded Vila Voltaire. As an advocate for a more progressive approach to organic winemaking, one that is less constrained by regulations, Stéphane shares his story with us.

Vila Voltaire wines: creative and innovative blends made from old vines and Carignan

With Carignan, there is a very fine line to walk in terms of ripeness, extraction, and, above all, aging. Today, we are rediscovering it by opting for very gentle extraction and setting aside its rough edges.

At Vila Voltaire, we’ve aimed to develop two lines of wine. First, a line of “everyday wines ”—that is, fresh, easy-drinking wines for wine shops and restaurants. To produce these, we work with old vines (Cinsault, Counoise, Aramon…): the large clusters are vatted and their free-run juice is drawn off before undergoing organic processing.

In our second line, we return to Carignan and the terroir of Saint Chinian. Here, we focus on freshness and fruit, without falling into under-extraction. Achieving the right balance is a delicate balancing act. Our three key varieties are: Grenache (which expresses itself through fruit and body), Carignan (the foundation of the Languedoc identity, blending garrigue and balsamic notes), and Syrah (about 10% to act as a binding agent). The idea is to play on this body-fruit interplay without being overpowering.

Stephane Yerle, winemaker at Vila Voltaire, speaks out: Appellations, natural wines…The deception of conventions

When we started this venture eight years ago, we didn’t have the required percentage of specific grape varieties to qualify for the Saint Chinian appellation. So we produced a “vin de pays” using Syrah, whereas today we’ve added Grenache to meet the appellation’s requirements. Appellations tend to be insular; the door isn’t exactly wide open to outsiders. Fortunately, there’s human creativity! We’re still pretty free, though: with our very small production, we can ignore the overly conventional expectations of certain elitists and journalists. In terms of distribution, we’re lucky to have a good network of agents who supply us to wine shops, restaurants… and so we’re a bit lazy when it comes to marketing.

I’m happy to be able to focus on my dual career—spending my mornings on my tractor as a winemaker and my afternoons with clients as a wine consultant. I want to live this adventure to the fullest!

More recent than appellations, there is another trend that has winemakers scratching their heads: natural wine. Winemakers have developed the expertise to ensure that each bottle expresses certain qualities (terroir, grape variety, etc.). Wine is certainly natural in its origin, but above all cultural due to the extremely free-spirited approach the winemaker brings to it. When a top Michelin-starred chef works with meticulous precision and then pairs a wine that lacks precision, it’s a complete contradiction. For me, natural wine isn’t about innovation; it’s more of a vintage trend.

However, so as not to be entirely pessimistic, we can applaud the innovation of natural winemakers. They have dared to bring back aromatic profiles that were once considered taboo—such as cooked or animal notes—and this is a step forward, provided they can be controlled! Today, we must reconcile convention with nature and embrace greater complexity.

Find wines from Vila Voltaire (Languedoc) on Les Grappes