I am Sylvain Thevenet, a winemaker who has been based in my native village of Saillans, in the heart of the Drôme Valley, since 2011.

After spending around ten years working in wine estates in the south of France and Bordeaux, I decided to return home to put down roots there permanently.

Ferme Saint Maurice was born from this return to the land. Today, I cultivate around 10 hectares of organic vines. My grape varieties (Syrah, Carignan, Clairette Blanche and Muscat petits grains) give birth to lively and expressive vintages, vinified without artifice: fermentation with indigenous yeasts, without filtration, with a light sulfiting if necessary (between 1 and 3 g/hL).

Here, the vineyard is perched between 300 and 400 meters above sea level, on the southern foothills of the Vercors. The clay-limestone soils and the mountain climate produce wines with a beautiful freshness.

My approach is guided by agroecology: respect for the soil and sowing plant cover, taking biodiversity into account in my farming practices (birdhouses, hedges, ponds), and planting fruit and olive trees to enrich the living environment in my plots. I seek to promote biodiversity and natural balances on my plots, and thus make my agricultural system more resilient and naturally productive.

My wines:

“KÔRÉ”, a dry white Clairette blanche, fresh and floral

“Georges is a hen”, a dry Pet' Nat' of Muscat petit Grain, delicious and joyful

“Vita Brevis”, a fresh, fruity Syrah

“Chiendent d'Achigan”, a supple and crisp red made from Syrah and Carignan

“Ars Longa”, a more concentrated and complex Syrah

My bottles are reusable thanks to the “Ma bouteille s'appelle revient” channel, and I mainly sell them through short circuits: markets, organic grocery stores, wine merchants, restaurants in the region, and a few points in Paris…

The Saint Maurice farm is also active within the association "Les Fermes paysannes et sauvages" whose mission is, in the face of the problems of biodiversity collapse and climate change, to promote the return of wildlife to agricultural areas, by practicing active hospitality (planting hedges, developing ponds, installing nesting boxes, etc.) and by changing our posture in our daily work, in particular by trusting the dynamics of life on our plots. If you would like to learn more about this topic: https://lesfermespaysannesetsauvages.wordpress.com/