Champagne Jestin

Hervé Jestin:
An Oenologist in Harmony with Nature

Hervé Jestin, oenologist and consultant, has a deep connection with his wines and with nature. He met the team at the heart of his Clos de Cumières, planted with equal parts Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which he purchased in 2010 from the Champagne Leclerc-Briant family. His champagnes, from his first harvest at Clos de Cumières in 2012, are currently ageing in the cellars, due to be released in 2017. In the meantime, Hervé Jestin travels the world to advise his clients, whilst benefiting from the support of Vincent Laval, another renowned biodynamic winemaker. Laval and his team handle regular vineyard maintenance and also allow Hervé to use their 2,000 kg press – the perfect size for his small plot – during the harvest. Whilst the buildings on the neglected estate are being demolished or converted into a new laboratory, cellars and other necessary facilities, Jestin tries to spend every spare moment in his clos.

Hervé Jestin: A Biodynamic Pioneer in the World of Champagne

Hervé Jestin, a travelling oenologist and consultant, is known for his love of the world and his dedication to winemaking. He works all over the world, focusing primarily on the wines of Champagne. He has earned a reputation in the region, not least for his most cherished project: the production of vibrant, soulful wines and the development of biodynamic viticulture. His journey into biodynamic viticulture began in 1995, when he was cellar master at Champagne Duval-Leroy. At the time, biodynamic viticulture was little known and even less accepted. As head of production, he played a part in the development and implementation of unconventional winemaking methods, a far cry from the conventional oenological approach.

Hervé Jestin: An Oenologist’s Journey to Biodynamics

Hervé Jestin, having had to set aside everything he’d learnt during his oenology studies, soon began sourcing organic grapes for several of Maison Duval-Leroy’s cuvées. However, he soon realised that he wanted to go further, following his instinct regarding the potential of biodynamic viticulture. Despite a lack of support from some quarters, he had to turn to qualified winemakers who had made the transition from organic production to a healthier approach. In 1997, he produced the first biodynamic vintage using grapes from David Leclapart, now a leading figure in Champagne winemaking. A decade later, Duval-Leroy’s non-vintage champagne entered the world’s top 100 wines, an achievement that surprised many. Since then, Jestin has advised numerous wine producers, from Champagne to England, Russia and Canada, and has also collaborated with a range of like-minded innovators. With his loving outlook on life and his faith in a higher intelligence within nature, Hervé Jestin has become one of the most renowned oenologists in the world of bioenergetic viticulture.

Hervé Jestin: The Unique Energy of Clos de Cumières and the Human Connection with the Vine

Hervé Jestin talks about his deep connection with Clos de Cumières, a terroir he purchased because of its unique and distinct energy. He sees the soil as a vibrant organism, with its own intelligence and consciousness, just like every other element in nature. For him, life is universal and every terroir has something different to offer, but what he emphasises is life. It is life that transforms a piece of earth into something to which a human being can relate. He does not believe in the ‘laissez-faire’ principle. In biodynamics, they pay close attention to what matter is trying to tell them, to what it is trying to produce for them.

Hervé Jestin: The Art of Winemaking and the Intelligence of the Vine

Hervé Jestin explains that their role is to perceive and understand what is happening, and to provide the missing elements that life needs to thrive. This can be very simple in some cases, for example by providing more light or air. Sometimes, it is a plant, stone or mineral they need to add to guide the process in a certain direction. He works intuitively, without strict rules, and constantly adapts his methods to suit the season. He emphasises the importance of the relationship between the cellar master and the wine, and explains that the crucial work begins long before pressing. Around 70–80 per cent of an oenologist’s work is normally carried out before the juice comes off the press. He notes that when the juice from pressed must is directed into three or four different containers, three different wines are produced, which indicates that wine has the ability to resonate and possesses an intelligence of its own because it is a living substance.

Hervé Jestin: Wine Resonance and Human Interaction

Hervé Jestin explains that resonance is what sets wine apart from the usual rules of chemistry. However, this distinction is not often understood or accepted, which frequently leads to interventions that come too late, resulting in wines that differ markedly from one container to the next and lack a certain dimension. These wines may still be excellent, but they lack a vital connection. When he begins working with a new client, he must first establish a certain state of mind in the pressing room. He explains that the winemaker acts as an operator, but is merely one element interacting with all the others. If you change the operator, you get different results. Wine reacts in the same way as pure water. You can provide a certain range of stimuli to fuel its metabolism, and it will function according to the nature of the stimuli received. He recalls a day when he was tasting the wines of a winemaker friend in his presence, and he was genuinely surprised by how different one bottle tasted compared to the others. He said to his friend, “You must have been in a hurry the day you made that wine, rushing off to an appointment or something.” His friend laughed and admitted that he was right and that the day had been rather chaotic. He could taste something in the wine – a certain tension – caused by stress. It’s not bad stress, but rather something to do with time constraints. It’s the sort of effect we, as human beings, can have on a wine. As winemakers, they have to try to keep things simple. There are people who use their mental powers to create wines, and they produce excellent wines – there’s no doubt about that.

Hervé Jestin: Respecting the Intelligence of Wine

Hervé Jestin emphasises that to create wines that resonate with the human element, you have to respect the raw material and allow it its autonomy and intelligence. When making conventional champagne, there are no set rules for adding sulphur. He chooses a different quantity for each marc he presses, and starts again with a different quantity when the next marc arrives. He uses his divining rod to let the wine tell him exactly what it needs. He admits he sometimes has doubts, but believes it is important to always maintain a positive energy. In moments of doubt, we should not try to find the answer within ourselves, but simply let the raw material express itself. Humans do have an influence on wine, and the important thing is to exert a positive influence on it and maintain a spirit of goodwill. What they do should be dictated by the wine, not the other way round. If the wine needs plenty of love, it is their responsibility to nourish it with plenty of love. If it needs stimulation to withstand the forces of nature at a certain time of year, they must provide that stimulation.

Hervé Jestin: Listening to Life and the Unique Expression of Biodynamics

Hervé Jestin asks how we can place ourselves above life itself and dictate what it needs. He argues that we cannot create something greater than life in this way. So it is a matter of learning to listen to life and respond in everything we do. He points out that today we live in a highly technological world, but what is technology ultimately good for? He does not believe people are happier today. His most important goal as a winemaker is to make people aware that biodynamics has a unique purpose and expression. It’s not about what he or any other biodynamic winemaker might say to try and convince them. Rather, it’s about letting people taste the difference – the vitality and energy of their wines. Once they’ve tasted a wine and said, “Wow, this is something I’ve never tasted before. ‘How did they do that?’”, they usually come to them for explanations. But it is the overall experience of the wine that will lead them to conclude: “Right, biodynamic Champagnes are the real deal. I can taste and feel the difference.”