THE COMPANY
OUR STORY
At the origin, I had the desire to reconcile my two cultures, Scandinavian by my Finnish mother and Latin by my father from Nîmes. I was 21 years old and the wine environment interested me. What a better way to promote exchange and conviviality than wine?
In 2010, Samuel Delafont created the Maison S. Delafont witht the idea of enhancing Languedoc wines as well as the desire to share a form of adventure and emotion that comes from exploring terroirs such as Pic Saint-Loup, La Clape or Limoux.
Not coming from the wine world, Samuel approach things with creativity and open-mindedness.
This approach allowed him to be innovative as well as in the cellar, with the crafting of the barrels S. Delafont Barrels, as in the vineyard witht the application of permaculture.
OUR JOURNEY
2000 : Creation of the ViniPartner export office. Commercial development of estates, châteaux and wineries in the South of France.
2010 : Creation of Maison S. Delafont: sourcing, assembling and ageing great Languedoc wines.
2015 :Construction of our cellar, offices and store in Vézénobres at the edge of the Cevennes.
2017 : Acquisition of our first vines IGP Cévennes.
2018 : Sarting permaculture in our vines, first step: Démarrage de la permaculture dans nos vignes, première étape : total enherbement.
2019 : Creation of the company S. Delafont Baarels : conception and crafting of innovative stainless-steel barrels.
IN THE CELLAR
My approach is th reveal the terroir and work on the finesse and freshness of the wines.
WHITE WINES…
In the vinification of whites, we do not use sulfites and oxidize the must. The principle is to oxidize upstream what needs to be oxidized and to get rid of it during the settling. Then we can serenely approach the alcoholic and malolactic vinifications.
RED WINES…
For the reds, we privilege a soft and gentle extraction, by pumping over and one or two delestages. Maceration process lasts from 4 to 5 weeks.
THE AGEING…
The white and red wines are aged on the lees partly in stainless steel barrels to preserve the fruit and freshness. Another part is matured in stainless steel barrels equipped with French oak covers in order to bring a touch of oxygen and tannins.
OUR “SAVOIR-FAIRE”
For each “cru” we select and assemble small volumes of newly fermented wine from the best chateaux and domains of the appellation. We then carefully watch over the maturation process before bottling the wine in our own cellars.
SELECTING UNFILTERED WINES…
This involves choosing the best batches of wines which harmoniously combine and complement each other. All those years spent in the Languedoc vineyard have enabled Samuel Delafont to identify the best terroirs and to build a relationship of trust with winegrowers. Every year he explores vineyards in search of the rarest qualities.
BLENDING…
This is where the identity of our wine takes shape. We work on this key step with a great deal of care in collaboration with Claude Gros, our oenologist. The idea is to look into the future and to create the best combination in relation to the terroir, vintage, style, choice of casks and conceivable maturing time…
AGEING…
This phase enhances the wine and its terroir. One part of the wines is matured in 300-liters barrels made of French oak originating from a slow, light toasting process so as to “mark” the wines as little as possible. The second part is matured in 300-liters custom made stainless steel barrels. This part provides the crispiness, freshness and fruitiness.
