After 20 years as a schoolteacher, Emmanuel Senthille moved back to work on his family’s wine estate in St Jean de Crieulon in the foothills of the Cévennes. He joined his father initially, delivering his grapes to the local cooperative, but went on to set up his own winery in 2018, sourcing grapes from 4 hectares of vines. It was his childhood dream come true.
Emmanuelle felt that by creating his own winery he could do more justice to the vines and the work involved in caring for them, delve deeper into the world of winemaking, and contribute to social sustainability.
Emmanuel’s own principles and his love of nature (including a passion for mountain biking!) led him to convert to organic agriculture. He focuses on maintaining healthy soils and plant life, which in turn helps obtain the best possible fruit from his older, hillside-grown vines. Grapes are picked by hand and carefully sorted; wines are aged in barrels to extract the finest flavours and produce characterful, terroir-expressive wines.
Maison Blanc Senthille has rapidly made a name for itself, and top restaurants (including Maison d’Uzès) are more than happy to list wines from this talented young winemaker. Meanwhile Emmanuelle is as passionate about his wine as ever, and continues to extend and develop the estate.
