KERMIT LYNCH WINE MERCHANT

Situated halfway between the Pic Saint Loup and Tavel, the area known as the Languedoc Gardois has long been a viticultural hotspot: the Romans, who made the nearby city of Nîmes an important hub, established a thriving winemaking industry here centuries ago. Local wines enjoyed notable prestige throughout history, but a shift toward productivity over quality in the twentieth century all but stripped the region of its reputation. Thanks to forward-thinking young vignerons like Ludovic Engelvin, these historic terroirs are once again living up to their former glory.

After studies in viticulture and enology, Ludovic interned in cellars across southern France, Spain, and the Loire Valley, including a formative stint with the late Didier Dagueneau. Next, he took a sommelier position at a reputable establishment in Provence, where he honed his tasting skills and earned numerous awards, before leaving the restaurant world to open his own wine shop outside of Nîmes. Keen on making his own wine, he rented some vines, then sold the shop two years later to become a full-time vigneron. The 2013 vintage, vinified in his tiny cellar in the sleepy village of Vic-le-Fesq, marked his first commercial releases.

Ludovic’s wines, however, are anything but commercial. Inspired by his experiences in fine dining, during which he had the chance to taste top bottles from legendary domaines, he quickly learned that a conventional approach to viticulture and winemaking would never produce wines of distinctive character. The mentorship of Dagueneau and later Didier Barral, whom he befriended during his sommelier days and remains close to, cemented his belief in low-impact farming and natural winemaking. Essential oils and herbal tisanes replace synthetic treatments, and Ludovic opts not to till his parcels, instead allowing spontaneous vegetation to naturally aerate the soils while his small flock of sheep contributes fertilizer during the winter. In the cellar, he favors infusion rather than extraction, seeking delicacy over power and forgoing additives save for minute doses of sulfur.

Now the proprietor of nine hectares, split between terroirs of limestone and sandstone amid a rugged landscape dominated by stones and scrubby aromatic garrigue, Ludovic crafts elegant, perfumed wines of great purity. He is a proven master with the Grenache grape, coaxing seductive aromatics and silken texture from this noble Mediterranean variety. Focusing solely on traditional cépages well adapted to the local conditions, he manages incredible balance and finesse notwithstanding the natural concentration gleaned from low-yielding old vines in a hot, arid climate.

Still in the early days of his career, Ludovic already excels through a diligent, intuitive approach to his craft. Extensive experience in the industry and a passion for nuanced expressions of place have provided this young talent with all the necessary tools to stir things up and breathe fresh life into some of the Languedoc’s great unheralded terroirs.