The talented young winegrowers of the Vallon des Glauges estate

They are on an exceptional site in Provence and intend to make the most of it. Romain Baehni and Lorraine Oddo have joined forces on the Vallon des Glauges estate, above all to produce the wine they love, but also to develop a real project around the estate and rosé wine, the region's flagship. A youth full of desires, passions and determination. An enthusiasm that allows all the successes. Romain and Lorraine tell us about their adventure in the rosé wine in Provence.

Romain et Lorraine: the synergy of an association

Romain and Lorraine are both in their thirties; he is the son of a winegrower in Provence, knows the wine trade and the region; she is a neophyte in oenology, discovers the world of wine with enthusiasm and intends to learn quickly to develop the estate.

Romain arrived on the domain 10 years ago: "I am the oenologist of the domain, agricultural engineer and oenologist. I took over the estate 10 years ago. I come from a family of wine growers for 3 generations. When the family estate was sold, I looked for and took over the Vallon des Glauges estate. "

Lorraine has taken up residence more recently: "The young man, for his part, was looking for a new lease of life: "We've reached a point where we needed a new energy. I met Lorraine and we decided to join forces. »

Between the two young enthusiasts, their motivations and their energies, the association is a real success: "It is essential to be two, in the contribution of energy, ideas and motivation. It takes several people to carry an ambitious project like ours," notes Romain.

Ambitious, the project is undoubtedly ambitious.

Romain and Lorraine share their passion for the Vallon des Glauges estate.

They do not only share a passion for wine; the wonder for the job, the enthusiasm for the work, the enchantment of the result are the ingredients of a recipe that can only succeed.

"I've always been passionate about the many facets of the wine business: from the planting of the vine to the moment the wine is bottled to be tasted by a private individual, it's fascinating. Each year becomes an exciting adventure where the history of the vintage is written. It's terribly exciting and very rewarding to be part of time in this way. We plant vines that will remain in production for years to come; and every year we reap the fruit of our labour. On the other hand, we animate the passion for our wine by tasting and defending our products in front of consumers. It is a questioning, a work on ourselves and on our vineyard. Everything cohabits and makes the job really fascinating", confides the young winegrower.

"I like what happens between the moment you start making wine and the distribution of your product. It's exceptionally rewarding and stimulating," Lorraine adds.

Youth and passion bring a lot of exceptional energy, renewal, modernity and dynamism to the wine industry in Provence: "I have seen the evolution of rosés over the generations and I tell myself that we have a very interesting card to play. Today, rosé is a product that has found its clientele. We are many young winegrowers who invest a lot in the rosé sector in Provence: time, money, energy. We believe in its development. We want to develop the flagship products of the region", say the young managers, pragmatic and determined.

Our favourite vintages of the domain:

Tradition Red 2015

Tradition White 2017

Tradition Rosé 2018

The Vallon des Glauges estate: "Here, the word 'terroir' has a meaning".

"It's a place of unique beauty," says Lorraine, "It's a place I didn't know at all. Chance made me arrive there and I was blown away by the force of the landscape", recalls the winemaker, "it's like nothing else. There is a very strong and unique character".

When Romain describes his terroir, we are convinced by its singularity and exception. Such a terroir can only produce good wines.

"Geologically, we have a very strong history. From the first glance, we cannot miss that something is happening. Here, the word "terroir" has a meaning. We are in an environment that allows us to have vines with character. Whatever we do in winemaking, we will certainly have wines that can be diametrically opposed, but which will always have the same structure. Our wines are recognizable in that they let the identity of their terroir express itself. We will never be able to erase the character of the terroir," says Romain, "and that's good!

An exceptional terroir, combined with meticulous and rigorous work undertaken over the last 10 years on the identification of plots and grape varieties, allow Romain et Lorraine to produce varied wines from the terroir. This is indeed the objective.

Thanks to a rigorous work in the vineyards, Romain et Lorraine produce high quality terroir wines.

"We did a lot of micro-vinification to identify which plots we wanted to turn red or rosé. This work allowed us to make a qualitative identification of the plot," explains Romain.

A range of wines for all tastes, and rosé in the spotlight

The range of wines is complete even if the flagship cuvée of the estate remains, of course, a rosé, traditional of Provence.

"Cuvée Tradition en Rosé is the cuvée that we market the most," notes Romain. "It is a very pale rosé, feminine in its presentation, very fine. It is very versatile and can be drunk both as an aperitif and as an accompaniment to a cuisine that I would call Mediterranean. »

Up to the Réserve des Opies in Rosé made from Syrah and Grenache old vines, matured in barrels, which has a very different profile. "The idea is to keep a fine and taut rosé. The barrel brings a little sweetness, but we chose it with very little toasting. This wine is more tannic than the previous one and has a very nice complexity. It is a rosé de table which is very popular with gourmet restaurants," says the winemaker.

White, rosé and red! For all tastes, all palates, all desires and whims.

The selection is made right from the plot, just like the Reserve des Opies Rouge cuvée, as Romain explains: "the Reserve des Opies red is much more concentrated. It is a wine of guard with an extremely interesting quality of tannins. The vines grow on pebbled soils. They are 60 years old and have very low yields. This is what guarantees the concentration in the wine. »

Romain and Lorraine have big plans for the Vallon des Glauges estate.

With such emulation, Romain and Lorraine do not hesitate to claim ambitions, projects and development. Of course, on such an exceptional place, wine tourism is an activity to be favoured; it will bring consumers to the estate and create encounters. To develop the new cuvée Bulles, export, the local CHR ...

In addition, the young winemakers intend to continue to develop the estate and why not, discover new vintages, through vinification, vintages and tastings .... The adventure has only just begun!

Manon Mouly - pour les Grappes