Jean-Baptiste Souillard

Jean-Baptiste Souillard, a passionate winemaker with a scientific profile, founded his trading house in 2014 in Andance, in the northern Rhône Valley. His studies in oenology, combined with a master's degree in international wine and spirits trade, gave him solid expertise. He rounded out his training with experience in France and abroad, notably in Australia, New Zealand, Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Rhône Valley and Languedoc, enriching his winegrowing know-how. Jean-Baptiste Souillard favors partnerships with local organic winemakers to produce haute couture wines. This close collaboration with the growers enables him to monitor the vines throughout the vegetative cycle, decide on harvest dates and carry out the harvest with his team. He focuses on vinification, often using whole grapes. Aging takes place in used barrels for fifteen to twenty months, so as not to mask the wine's intrinsic characteristics with too much wood. The wines produced by Jean-Baptiste Souillard are of great finesse, reflecting the terroirs of various appellations such as Côte-Rôtie, Saint-Joseph, Crozes-Hermitage, Saint-Péray and Cornas. Each cuvée offers a parcel-by-parcel reading of the terroirs, expressing ripe, fine, racy, Burgundian aromas. This parcel-by-parcel approach highlights the diversity and richness of the region's soils. Jean-Baptiste Souillard stands out for his scientific rigor and hands-off approach in the cellar. This method produces wines sought after for their precision and elegance. His cuvées, such as “Les Bâties” in Crozes-Hermitage and “Bassenon” in Côte-Rôtie, are particularly appreciated for their ability to sublimate the terroirs of the Northern Rhône. Jean-Baptiste's commitment to the quality and authenticity of his wines, combined with a deep knowledge of the terroirs, makes his cuvées benchmarks in the region.