The Dauvergne Ranvier partnership is the result of a joint passion. The founders are two wine lovers who, after many years with some of France’s best wine companies, decided to get together to make their own wines. François Dauvergne worked with his grape growing family in Limoux, before branching out to the Rhône Valley where he has been working for the past 15 years. Jean-François Ranvier was an amateur geologist who finally chose Oenology after he’d finished a degree in agronomy. For a time he directed an oenology lab, then took over the vinification for a major negociant house in the Rhône Valley.
It was there that Jean-François first met and worked with François. In 2004 Dauvergne and Ranvier left together to create their own winery, with the goal of making their brand synonymous with quality, and for it to become of the most recognized in the Rhône Valley. With no vines, no cellar, and only a modest amount of money, it is not easy to simply create a winery.
François Dauvergne explains: “As we had no vines but wanted to create our own wines, we had to establish strong relationships with winegrowers in the Rhône Valley. In exchange for our advice and ‘adequate’ funds, we are allowed to select the best plots of vines. The growers then work with us following our guidelines. Everything is examined: pruning, grass between the rows, debudding… in a precise yet practical fashion".
The boys think that the most important step before the harvest consists of tasting the grapes, which Jean-François does personally, plot by plot. (This guy is dedicated to his work.) “This is without a doubt one of the most important points: tasting the grapes allows you to precisely determine something which no instrument can do: the true maturity of the grapes. You cannot create great wines without excellent grapes. Scientific analysis cannot measure what makes a good grape: its taste. It’s only by actually tasting the grapes that you can know at exactly what moment to harvest exactly which vines.” J-F Ranvier
Once the harvest is finished, the grapes are put into separate tanks that each estate reserves for them onsite. This means the grapes are not altered by additional, unnecessary transport, the winegrower respects the juice in the same way as all of his harvest, and he can use his own equipment which he is both familiar with, and limits costs. This is just one of the may reasons that Dauvergne Ranvier can offer great wines at reasonable prices.
Vinification takes place completely under their control, and they visit all of the cellars up to five times a week. There’s no single method for vinification, as each cuvee has its own potential and its own style. Each vinification is adapted according to what is found in tastings and by respecting the fruit. They practice minimum intervention, delicate extraction and aim to achieve the maximum freshness. At the end of fermentation, the wines are stocked in tanks or barrels in each winegrower’s estate. When barrels are used, Dauvergne and Ranvier select and buy the barrels themselves and give them to the winegrowers.
These guys are still relatively new, and there’s no American importer to speak of, so they mainly fly under Parker’s radar. Decanter and Jancis Robinson on the other hand love them, so get in while prices are sane.
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