We stumbled upon Mathias' wines at a fair in the Ardeche a few years ago, he was sharing a his barrel table with Daniel Sage and showing just one wine, an impossibly delicious, elegant Pinot Noir. He had no wine to sell. Fortunately we ran into him again a couple of times at some wine fairs and as he built up his tiny estate, we have finally managed to procure some wines from him, which are as delicious as that first memory.

The estate is made up of 2.5 hectares of hillside vines located on the south-facing slope of the commune of Désaignes, in northern Ardèche, 30km from Tournon-sur-Rhône. The entire estate was planted, from 2018, on land which was under vines until the 1950s and which had been abandoned following the rural exodus to the city. The terroir is granitic and the vines are planted between 500 and 600m above sea level, which brings freshness to the wines. The grape varieties planted are: Pinot Noir, Gamay, Chenin and Syrah. The vines are pruned in gobelets for the Pinot Noir and Syrah, in cordon de royat for the Chenin and the Gamay. The vines are farmed organically, limiting as much as possible the use of copper in cultivation, through preventive operations and the use of fermented plant extracts (Nettle, Horsetail, etc.). The yields obtained are low (less than 40hL/ha) to preserve the quality of the grapes. The ground works are carried out with a crawler, all the other operations are carried out by hand. The harvest is manual. In the cellar, vinification is carried out using indigenous yeasts in stainless steel vats. The musts are pressed in a ratchet press then aged in stainless steel vats.

His estate wines show the potential of this tiny part of the Ardeche to make intense, delicious wines that balance depth, complexity with a light balanced touch.

In 2024 Mathias bought some fruit to make some wines to supplement his income, offering a taste of his style They show his skill as a winemaker and offer his elegant touch at a more affordable price point.