Journal

“A berry from schiste is like a diamond from the soil,” says Roussillon winemaker Olivier Pithon. At first glance, this it doesn’t look so precious: schiste terrain is like pale broken pottery, weathered fragments of compressed clay that would suggest an unwelcome home for vines.

Words by Mina Holland, Photographs by Elena Heatherwick

According to Olivier Pithon, there is a saying between Bordeaux and Narbonne that the men from each city take women from the other depending on which way the tramontane is blowing. We like to think that, equally, the women might take the men – should fancy take them – but, sexism aside, this is a maxim about the incredible power this northern wind is considered to have in the south of France. 

Words by Mina Holland, Photographs by Elena Heatherwick

“She’s been with me since the beginning,” says Olivier Pithon as he strokes his grazing cow, Laïs, “she’s very special”. Pithon can only be in his early forties, so – with over 22 years together on the clock – I imagine that Laïs has been the most longstanding woman in his life; certainly, they seem very comfortable together. She wears a large bell on a collar around her neck, which jingles with every chew.

Words by Mina Holland, photography by Elena Heatherwick

Trevor and Benji are in fierce agreement that a structure of a wine is all-important:

“A great wine to me has to be long, big and light,” states Benji

“Yes, it needs shoulders but it needs elegance,” agrees Trevor.

“Who does it look like?”

Trevor thinks for a moment. “An East German swimmer circa 1974 of indiscriminate sex but very beautiful!”

Words by Mina Holland, photographs by Elena Heatherwick

Terroirs – generally taken to mean the climate and the soil in which grapes are grown and wine is made – are essential to the character of a wine. But Trevor and Boulevard Napoleon winemaker, Benji Darnault, add ‘people’ to their definition of the term. 

Words by Mina Holland, photographs by Elena Heatherwick