Producer: Jérôme Lambert

Jérôme Lambert

A farmer-winemaker in the Coteaux-du-Layon appellation, Jérôme Lambert organically and naturally vinifies local grape varieties — Chenin, Grolleau, Cabernet Franc, and Gamay. His reds are fresh and delightful, while his whites are straightforward, noble, and flavorful.

Tous ses vins

4 products

Le Zudefruit Red 2021
Jérôme Lambert

Le Zudefruit Red 2021

€29,90

L'air de Rien Sparkling Rosé 2020
Jérôme Lambert

L'air de Rien Sparkling Rosé 2020

€33,00

Du Bout des Lèvres White 2009
Jérôme Lambert

Du Bout des Lèvres White 2009

€122,00

From White Air 2017
Jérôme Lambert

From White Air 2017

€42,00

Jérôme Lambert

Champs-sur-Layon (Maine-et-Loire), Pays de la Loire
 
Sulfuring is not playing fair.
 

Where?

Jérôme Lambert was born in Rablay-sur-Layon, a small village in southern Anjou, and that is where he makes his wine today. The son of a winegrower, he enjoyed picking grapes, crushing them and fermenting them from childhood. Later, he chose to work in commerce, but the desire to make wine was never far away. In 2003, still in Rablay, he participated in pruning vines at Philippe Cesbron's vineyard and took the opportunity to ask local winegrowers for some grapes to try his hand at winemaking. At that time, this self-taught winegrower was not very aware of the problems associated with sulfites and additives; he just wanted to start making wine. Several barrels followed the first, then he took control of a few plots. The following year, he acquired twenty ares of vines, but although his estate grew year after year, it took him fifteen years to reach one hectare. As this was a bit tight to make a living, he worked for Philippe Cesbron for six or seven years, followed by ten years for Olivier Picherit at Domaine de La Raimbaudière.
In 2003, as he began amateur winemaking, he asked winegrower Richard Leroy to help him add sulfur to his wine. Three weeks later, he called Richard to tell him that the wine didn't taste good. "That's normal," Richard replied, "it's the sulfites." From then on, Jérôme continued to produce small batches without adding sulfur and was completely satisfied with the result, but he didn't talk about it, convinced that no one else proceeded that way. It was only later that he learned about natural wines and discovered that he was not alone in aiming for 100% grape. All his subsequent vintages would be without added sulfur and encountered no particular difficulties: the wines were straightforward, drinkable, and faultless.
Jérôme is as much a farmer as he is a winegrower: he raises chickens, pigs, and sheep and takes this activity very seriously. Of course, rillettes, blood sausages, dry sausages, hams, and pâtés come from this livestock for family consumption.
 

Terroir, vineyard plots and grape varieties


On his small four-hectare estate, one hectare is dedicated to old chenin blanc vines (fifty years old) on schist soil typical of the region. The rest consists of lighter, sandy soils, planted with grolleau, gamay, and cabernet franc for the red wines.
 

Cultivation methods


The estate is cultivated organically with a strong focus on biodiversity. No additives are used in the vineyard, and all harvesting is done by hand. The old chenin vines are harvested three times to obtain wines resulting from different maturities.
 

Winemaking


No additives are used in the production of Jérôme Lambert's wines, and the full extent of these words can be appreciated when one knows that he even considers barrel wood as an additive. The goal is therefore to make 100% grape wines. For some cuvées, such as orange or dessert wines, it is not uncommon for Jérôme to blend wines from two vintages. Maceration is carried out with whole or destemmed bunches for reds, and the typical vinification of chenin blanc consists of pressing followed by fermentation of the must in vats with indigenous yeasts, with or without racking, and bottling after two years. Jérôme practices patient winemaking and is not a fan of shortcuts. He can leave his wines in vats for a very long time, preferring to bottle them only when they are completely ready. No sulfites are added during winemaking or bottling, needless to say.
 

The wines


Jérôme achieves success with both his white and red wines: the richness and nobility of chenin blanc, the freshness and drinkability of the Anjou red grape varieties (grolleau, cabernet franc, Anjou gamay) find superb expression in his wines, unobscured by any chemical veil. His triple harvest of chenin blanc yields straightforward, precise cuvées with great aging potential and fine minerality thanks to the schist soils, while the red Zudefruit possesses all the qualities of its grolleau grape variety: gourmet, succulent, a little mischievous. Le Fil Rouge offers the same qualities, but a proportion of cabernet franc rounds out the wine and gives it a touch of pepper. These are joyful, gourmet, and warm reds.

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