Henri Chauvet settled in the village of Boudes, in the French region of Auvergne, with 10.5 hectares of vineyards, in the spring of 2021. Relatively new to the world of wine, Henri spent several years working with winemakers, notably in the Rhône Valley, particularly with Thierry Allemand in Cornas. Boudes, south of Issoire, is one of the most renowned wine-producing villages in Auvergne, a region generally lesser-known. The climate and soils around the village are renowned for producing some of the most expressive Gamay, Pinot Noir, and Chardonnay in the region. The soils are very different from those of the vineyards further north; the village still benefits from volcanic elements that are common, but there is a predominance of clay and quartz rich in iron oxide. Henri's vines are divided between this red clay and plots with deeper volcanic and basaltic soils. It was this terroir complexity that attracted Henri to the region. He is a serious man, determined to produce wines faithful to the terroirs where the grapes are grown. 2021 was Henri's first harvest, and his goal was to discover what the different terroirs could offer him. He produced 10 different wines, and they are all captivating. This is just the beginning, and it's very promising! Henri Chauvet: The Ambition of Terroir In the spring of 2021 - the worst year for French vineyards - Henri Chauvet took over Domaine Sauvat in Boudes, Auvergne. The estate comprises 10.5 hectares of Gamay (60%), Pinot Noir (30%), and Chardonnay, and fabulous hills, including the breathtaking Baconnet. The vines grow on a volcanic lava flow and a unique blend of blue, red, and white marl. The work is hard, mechanization complicated, and the conversion to organic farming (started on day one) risky. Originally from Brive and trained in the Rhône Valley, Henri came to Auvergne "to make great terroir wines." And he found what he was looking for: 10.5 hectares divided among different parcels and at least two distinct terroirs. Those of Chamaret and Donazat, at the bottom of the valley, have the color of red clay and a temperament "more Beaujolais than Auvergne," says Henri. While the hills of Baconnet, Côte, and Bavotte, the historic terroirs of Boudes, all have the characteristics of Auvergne, starting from the basalt-colored soil and the steep slope descending towards the village. Some plots are worked by horse (by a specialized contractor). Finally, there is La Quaire, another basalt hill with ochre marl, whose conditions prompted Henri to put it under "rehabilitation." From the top of these plots, you can see the small village of Boudes at the bottom of the valley. But forget the image of the "volcano" with its perfect green dome; this is the other Auvergne, the driest region of Saint-Nectaire. Once the village boasted several hundred hectares of vineyards, but today only 40 remain, some of which are abandoned. There are no buyers in these thankless hills. Henri likes natural wine, and that's what he wants to produce... but he doesn't want to be defined by it. "I'm neither natural nor conventional. I don't want my cellar philosophy to overshadow my terroir," he explains at length, denouncing in passing "a form of radicalization of natural wine, which resembles a bit of a pissing contest, to see who can use the least sulfur possible. The further it goes, the more it resembles what happened with conventional wine. I think it's a shame." Highlighting the financial risks associated with creating a winery, he defends his "terroir vision" against the "pressures" of "hyper-naturalist" friends. "It takes five people to work these hills. We won't do all that work in the vineyards just to end up with wines that have 2.5 g of alcohol per volume and zero terroir. There are already many wines like that." The result: his 2021 whites received 2 g of sulfur at the tub, and in 2022, zero sulfur anywhere. Otherwise, his wines have all the ingredients to be natural: 100% indigenous yeasts, no filtration, aging, or other operations, and grapes in conversion to organic farming. His first harvest as a winemaker in 2021 was tough and above all very long. "I started the first one on September 22nd and finished the last one on November 6th. I don't know where I found all the energy." Each parcel and grape variety was vinified separately. The Chardonnays fermented for a year, a "bit stressful" period for the winemaker, "but the result came." Henri made two rosés, one of Gamay, with its rather pronounced citrus notes, and one of Pinot Noir, more delicate. As for the reds, he separated three cuvées of Gamay: the old Gamays of Chamaret and Donazat (in red clay with very rich decomposed granite quartz for the former and a large outcrop of limestone for the latter), those cultivated on basalt, with long notes of smoked black tea, and a final cuvée with more rustic notes. The Pinot Noir gave him a hard time after a hailstorm damaged the grapes, prompting him to add sulfites (2 g after blending free juices and pressing), and despite the closed nature of this wine, it is also one of the most interesting. Tasted before bottling, the result already seemed very elegant. In 2022, the harvest started much earlier, at the end of August, and lasted until September 21st. "The season started very badly, with a very dry spring. Fortunately, in June we had 120 mm of rain in three days, which saved us." Contacted a few days after the end of the harvest, Henri was already satisfied with this extraordinary vintage, with a good yield of 40 hl/ha and above all "magnificent grapes." On the project front, work has begun on the underground cellar and wine warehouse, scheduled for delivery in the spring. He also plans to plant 1 hectare of Syrah at the top of the Boudes hill, at 550 meters altitude. A return to the roots of Cornas, but above all "a bet in anticipation of climate change."