Olivier Lemasson got his start in wine as a caviste in Brittany. The mysterious and gravitating force of natural wine brought him to the winery of Marcel Lapierre (Gamay wizard and one of the founding fathers of the French natural wine movement) where he worked four successive harvests and one full year in the cellar. Then in 2002, Olivier moved to Touraine (Loire Valley) and started a small négociant operation called Les Vins Contés, purchasing fruit and making wine alongside Hervé Villemade, another producer whose wines are a staple here at the shop. Olivier continues to manage the project himself, and the wines have become benchmark vins de soif, enjoyed with reckless pleasure from Tokyo to Chicago to Paris and beyond.

Olivier is mostly known as a négociant, but this is not a situation where he is just buying random grapes he finds on internet messaging boards (a very common practice!). Every grower he works with farms organically. More than that, they are also friends, and over the past decade a lot of these friends have started bottling their own wines and have become important vignernons in their own right. I emphasize this because people like Olivier are key anchoring points in the tight but sprawling fabric of natural wine culture in the Loire. Here at the shop, we tend to praise artisans who control every part of the winemaking process—farming, vinifiying, bottling, etc.—but wine is a social beverage, and it’s important to recognize the key social role played by folks like Olivier. His humble and sociable personality has allowed him to delicately knit together a beautiful community of farmers, winemakers, importers, etc. Also, it should be noted that Olivier has slowly acquired his own vines along the way, and works almost exclusively with the 7 hectares of vines he farms himself.

Made from a blend of Grolleau, Cab Franc, Gamay and Côt, R19 is a portrait of the 2019 vintage (just as R18 was for 2018, etc...). The *slightly* cooler season means this doesn’t taste like Grenache, though it is still darker than Loire reds of yesteryear—it displays a spicy depth, cool-toned dark fruit and crunchy minerals with verve and freshness. Gama-Sutra is all Gamay from the oldest vines Olivier works with. This year is all dark ripe fruit on the nose, but that shifts to lovely tart freshness on the palate—offer up thanks for the ability of these old vines to weather the vagaries of our climate! Finally, there is Poivre et Sel, 100% Pineau d’Aunis, all dark violets and peppers hovering over ripe berries. Always a joy to get these classic vins de soif. We’ve got some fun big bottles for your late summer pleasure. (Check out that natty label on the big Gama-Sutra!)

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Below is what we currently have in stock from Olivier. Let us know if you would like to order any bottles by giving us a call at (773) 360-8365 or by emailing us with your request.

R19 $25
R19 MAGNUM $50
R19 JERO $135

Poivre et Sel 2019 $27
Poivre et Sel 2019 MAGNUM $60
Poivre et Sel 2019 $160

Gama Sutra 2019 $27
Gama Sutra 2019 MAGNUM $60
Gama Sutra 2019 JERO $160