COUNTRY :
France
REGION :
Rhône Valley
PRODUCTION :
8,000 bottles/year
Lolita Sene
Before becoming a vigneron, a 20 year old Lolita Sene had another life as an artistic director of a nightclub. This inspired her to combine her loves of partying and science so she returned to school to study agronomy with the ultimate goal of making wine. She quickly became bored of conventional winemaking and discovered the world of natural wine, which she felt touched on “a very particular emotion.” After school, Lolita worked in a cellar and as a sommelier in the U.S., passionately defending natural wine. After a few years of this, Lolita was tired of just serving and talking about natural wine, and so made the decision to move back to France to make her own.
Today, Lolita is the owner of a plot of land in the southern Rhône that grows Grenache, Syrah, and Cinsault. She began with just 1,800 bottles in 2018 and is currently producing 8,000 for 2020. She is committed to never exceeding 10,000 bottles because her motto is “Start small, stay small.”
Lolita does absolutely everything by hand, from working the vineyard (hand harvested) to designing the labels. She utilizes a clique press, lightly crushes by foot, and fills her barrels by bucket. Bottling takes place on a small 4-bec machine. Committed to minimal intervention, Lolita’s wines use only organically farmed grapes and are never fined or filtered with zero sulfur added.
Fare Niente
Region: Rhône
Grape:Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Vermentino, Viognier
Vineyard Size: 1.10 hectares
Soil: clay, limestone
Average Age of Vines:
Farming: organic
Harvest: by hand
Winemaking: spontaneous co-fermentation in neutral oak with indigenous yeasts, 10 days maceration
Aging: in neutral oak, sur lie
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: none
“150 BPM”
Region: Rhône
Grape: Clairette, Cinsault, Mourvèdre
Vineyard Size: 1.10 hectares
Soil: clay, limestone
Average Age of Vines:
Farming: organic
Harvest: by hand
Winemaking: whole cluster, spontaneous co-fermentation in neutral oak with indigenous yeasts
Aging: in neutral oak, sur lie
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: none
“Couscous”
Region: Rhône
Grape: Cinsault
Vineyard Size: 1.10 hectares
Soil: clay, limestone
Average Age of Vines:
Farming: organic
Harvest: by hand
Winemaking: whole cluster, spontaneous fermentation in amphora and neutral oak with indigenous yeasts
Aging: in amphora and neutral oak, sur lie
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: none
“Adorable”
Region: Rhône
Grape: Syrah, Grenache
Vineyard Size: 1.10 hectares
Soil: clay, limestone
Average Age of Vines:
Farming: organic
Harvest: by hand
Winemaking: direct press of Syrah, 6 day maceration of Grenache, spontaneous fermentation in neutral oak with indigenous yeasts
Aging: in neutral oak, sur lie
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: none
“Papanapator”
Region: Rhône
Grape: Syrah
Vineyard Size: 1.10 hectares
Soil: clay, limestone
Average Age of Vines:
Farming: organic
Harvest: by hand
Winemaking: whole cluster, 6 day maceration, spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts
Aging: in stainless steel, sur lie
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: none
“Mise En BEC”
Region: Rhône
Grape: Sauvignon Blanc, Syrah
Vineyard Size: 4 hectares
Soil: clay, limestone
Average Age of Vines:
Farming: organic
Harvest: by hand
Winemaking: 10 day carbonic maceration, spontaneous fermentation in neutral barrels with indigenous yeasts
Aging: in neutral barrels
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: none
“Mise En Bouche”
Region: Rhône
Grape: Grenache Noir, Grenache Gris, Clairette Rose, Clairette Blanche, Cinsault
Vineyard Size: 18 hectares
Soil: clay, limestone
Average Age of Vines:
Farming: organic
Harvest: by hand
Winemaking: 5 day co-maceration, carbonic maceration, spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts
Aging: in stainless steel
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: none
“Tralala”
Region: Rhône
Grape: Syrah
Vineyard Size: 1.10 hectares
Soil: clay, limestone
Average Age of Vines:
Farming: organic
Harvest: by hand
Winemaking: direct press, spontaneous fermentation in stainless steel with indigenous yeasts
Aging: méthode ancestrale
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: none
“Papanapator”
Region: Rhône
Grape: Syrah
Vineyard Size: 1.10 hectares
Soil: clay, limestone
Average Age of Vines:
Farming: organic
Harvest: by hand
Winemaking: 33% direct press, 67% 7 day maceration, spontaneous fermentation in neutral barrels with indigenous yeasts
Aging: 5 months in neutral barrels, sur lie
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: none
“Kiffe Kiffe”
Region: Rhône
Grape: Ugni Blanc
Vineyard Size: 1.10 hectares
Soil: clay, limestone
Average Age of Vines:
Farming: organic
Harvest: by hand
Winemaking: 8 day maceration, spontaneous fermentation in neutral barrels with indigenous yeasts
Aging: 5 months in stainless steel, sur lie
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: none
“Couscous”
Region: Rhône
Grape: Cinsault
Vineyard Size: 1.10 hectares
Soil: clay, limestone
Average Age of Vines:
Farming: organic
Harvest: by hand
Winemaking: 50% direct press, 50% 6 day maceration, spontaneous fermentation in neutral barrels with indigenous yeasts
Aging: 5 months in neutral barrels, sur lie
Fining: none
Filtration: none
Added S02: none