# Henri Chauvet Vie Ordinaire VDF Red (2024)

- **Producer:** Domaine Henri Chauvet
- **Colour:** red
- **Type:** still
- **Grapes:** Gamay, Pinot Noir
- **Region:** Loire, France
- **Style:** Natural
- **Alcohol:** 13.0%
- **Average price:** €35
- **Vegan:** Yes
- **Contains sulphites:** Yes
- **When to drink:** Now or Later
- **Serving temperature:** 14–16 °C
- **Aromas & flavours:** cherry, raspberry, redcurrant, rose, violet, smoke

## About this wine

Domaine Henri Chauvet was established in spring 2021 when Henri Chauvet left a corporate banking career to pursue winemaking in Auvergne. Having trained under legendary natural winemakers Jérôme Bressy and Thierry Allemand, Chauvet acquired a 10.5-hectare estate in Boudes. The 2024 vintage of Vie Ordinaire is particularly unique: after severe April frost reduced yields across the region, Chauvet combined all surviving red grape parcels into this single cuvée, making it the only estate red produced that year.

## Interesting facts

- Due to severe April frosts, this is the only estate red wine produced by Domaine Henri Chauvet in 2024.
- Winemaker Henri Chauvet left a corporate banking career to train under legendary Cornas producer Thierry Allemand.
- The steepest vineyard slopes in Boudes are cultivated using horses due to extreme gradients.

## Food pairing

The wine's bright acidity, light body, and delicate tannins pair beautifully with lean meats, poultry, and earth-driven mushroom dishes without overpowering their natural flavors.

## Wine making process

The grapes were hand-harvested from steep volcanic, clay, and granite slopes in Boudes. Fermentation occurred naturally using 100% indigenous yeasts, with gentle infusion-style maceration in neutral vessels. The wine was aged for 12 months in neutral French oak barrels of various sizes, followed by 6 months in bottle. It was bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal added sulfur.