You may not yet be familiar with the name Aurélien Lefort, so it’s well worth exploring his craft, which has certainly piqued our curiosity. The winemaker has an unconventional background, in that he holds a degree in fine arts. Passionate about nature and wine, he decided to embark on this adventure after taking his first steps with Patrick Bouju among others. In 2011, he settled in the small village of Madriat, in Auvergne working a handful of once abandoned leased vines, that he lovingly nurtures according to organic principles. The vineyard benefits from an unusually diverse range of soils: clay, sand, gravel, basalt, granite, marls… Here, grape varieties draw their nobility. Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Gamay are worked by hand with a hoe to let the roots “breathe”. Harvests are, of course, manual and the berries are meticulously sorted before vinification.
The winemaking stage shuns all chemical products. Macerations can be lengthy (up to three months), and intra-pellicular fermentation (inside the grape cluster itself) is encouraged.
The wines left a lasting impression on us. Most are red, sometimes sparkling, sought after for their intensity, power and upright structure. Each wine is a unique and authentic memory of a terroir and a vintage. A discovery well worth following closely, though these gems remain hard to come by.

Thanks to the hard work of passionate winemakers in the region, Auvergne has seen a boom in its wine production, as they found a way to showcase the local volcanic terroir. Aurélien Lefort is one of these very winemakers; before trying his hand at wine-growing, Lefort studied at the Beaux-Arts in Paris but as his passion for nature and wine grew, he decided to take his first steps in vineyards alongside Patrick Bouju. This red Vin de France, called Bloom, is produced using local grape varieties that are carefully grown following environmentally friendly farming methods. Organic principles are applied before the grapes are harvested by hand, so that they can be carefully sorted before vinification. The absence of additives, long maceration periods and intracellular fermentation triggered by indigenous yeasts are all typical of this vinification.
The wine is pale red in colour and should be allowed to breathe before serving. It unveils an indulgent and generous fruitiness, both on the nose and on the palate. Share a bottle with friends and enjoy it with a light dish or as an aperitif.