Sébastien Dervieux - Les vignes de Babass

The Loire Valley is one of the main pioneering regions for natural wine in France, with flagship estates such as the Domaine des Griottes, in Anjou, from the dawn of the 2000s. Sébastien Dervieux – known as Babass –, one of its founders, then decided to go it alone, creating its own small domain with the same artisanal work: vines on a human scale, traditional culture and natural vinification.

First founder in 2001 of the Domaine des Griottes with Patrick Desplats in Saint-Lambert-du-Lattay in the heart of the Coteaux du Layon in Anjou, then creator in 2011 of his own estate Les Vignes de Babass, Sébastien Dervieux has become a major, albeit modest and discreet, figure in the natural wine world. His vines, voluntarily limited to some 4 ha, are located between Rochefort-sur-Loire and Beaulieu-sur-Layon, and include chenin – in particular the small plot inherited from the legendary Hacquet family –, grolleau and cabernet franc, as well as a little gamay. Respect for the cycles of nature and extreme care in everything, from the vine to the cellar, go hand in hand with the refusal of abusive interventions: these are the foundations of an approach that favors authenticity and sincerity. Whites as reds, the wines bear the mark, made of fruit and minerality, frankness and drinkability.