His research on white wines quickly captured the interest of professionals. He began working as a consultant oenologist in the mids with Denis Dubourdieu, focusing initially on white wines, before extending his work to red wines. Christophe Ollivier: There are many challenges. No collaboration is possible without this prerequisite. The second is to objectively assess the production conditions terroir, grape varieties, viticulture, installation and vinification and to develop them to achieve the objective.
Finally, the confidence of the entire production team is essential. G: How would you describe the personality you try to give to the wines you consult? On the other hand, helping to create wines that are as rooted as possible in their place of production is an objective. Or during my collaboration of more than 20 years with two major Greek estates, the percentage of Bordeaux grape varieties was largely reduced in favour of local varieties such as Malagousia, Agiorgitico, Vertzami and Limnio.
The winemaking and ageing methods I recommend must allow the fullest and most delicate expression of the terroir. The method must be discreet in the bottle. What are the biggest changes in your profession? CO: These days, estates are increasingly calling on outside consultants, and the range of services on offer has developed considerably.
When Denis Dubourdieu and I set up the consultancy, we were the only ones to offer only consultancy with no analysis or product sales so that we could be totally independent in our recommendations. Nowadays, there are more of us in this position. Our advice was born of research, and it continues to be so thanks to the work of Valerie Lavigne and Axel Marchal.
We are increasingly called upon to make medium- and long-term strategic choices. Some consultants have made this their speciality. However, it seems to me that this model is running out of steam.
