Vinexpo Daily 2019 - Preview Edition

NEWS
ADVERTORIAL
OUR PASSION IS TO
GIVE PEOPLE SOMETHING
NEW TO DISCOVER.
Damiens Sartori
Oenologist, Lionel Osmin & Co
with Lionel Osmin
Founder, Lionel Osmin & Co
Taking southwest France to the world
Exclusive interview with Lionel Osmin, founder of Lionel Osmin and Co.
Lionel Osmin & Co is a specialist producer and distributor from the
south west of France. We talk to its founder, Lionel Osmin, about what
difference he wants to make, but we began by asking how he started out
in the field.
The story began at the foot of the
Pyrenees, as I was born in a village next
to Pau, in the Jurançon appellation.
My father was a wine lover who first
introduced me to this “universe”. After
doing internships at producers in
France and Spain I had the taste and
wanted to work in this field.
Why did you start Lionel Osmin & Co?
We wanted to make people more
aware of the true value of France’s
southwestern wines. The region is
not traditionally well known to wine
drinkers around the world and we
wanted to showcase what the region
can do and help promote the excellent
wines it is producing.
We also wanted to demonstrate the
support and pride our local producers
have in working with local grape
varieties that stretch back to the 1960’s.
We have an incredible diversity of grape
varieties in southwest France, but
what we don’t have is a long history, or
reputation for producing them, unlike
Bordeaux.
We can only pinpoint specific quality
improvements since the 1980’s, so
there is still a lot to do for this work
to be recognised. But we see every
day that markets are more and more
searching for original wines.
These producers have dedicated their
professional lives to these indigenous
grape varieties in order to make wines
that are more than just interesting.
These wines retain a great deal of
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character and identity. These local
winegrowers are close to my own roots,
which is why I wanted to do what I could
to help them.
How have you done that?
I first launched Maison de Vins de
Jurançon, with all the winegrowers
of the appellation. Then for 12
years, I worked as a kind of pilgrim,
travelling the world promoting the
qualities of these wines, explaining
Tannat, and the fact Malbec originates
from Cahors.
In 2010, I wanted to bring my own
personality to the wines, and start my
own production and founded Lionel
Osmin & Co with winemaker, Damiens
Sartori. We did this without buying
vineyards but grapes, so that we could
group together a number of indigenous
varietal wines under one roof, and
present a more simplified offer to
distributors, and importers around the
world. We introduced our first wines to
the market in 2011.
What differentiates the grapes of
the southwest to other varieties and
regions?
The southwest is a vast wine producing
region, stretching west to east, from the
Atlantic Ocean to the Massif Central,
and south to north, from the Pyrenees
to Bordeaux. This territory has multiple,
and very different climatic, geologic
and geographic features. This means
we don’t have a unity of production
that one might find in Burgundy or
Bordeaux, where you will find the
same geography and climate across
most vineyards. This is why each of our
appellations have such a diverse range
of different grape varieties that have
all adapted to the unique climate and
geography… like Malbec. Whilst it has
become an internationally renowned
grape variety, its source and origin is
Cahors in the Lot Valley. Traditionally
it’s full-bodied, but we now produce two
very distinct styles of this native grape,
including a fresh, fruity version that no
way resembles the historic, traditional,
rustic style. Malbec is not only French,
but comes from the southwest and is
the “original French, fresh Malbec”. The
Négrette is also very unique, planted
only at Fronton just north of Toulouse,
producing excellent rosé wines.
We want to bring these amazing wines
to the attention of the world’s wine
lovers and not just present them with a
50th Merlot or 35th Syrah. Our passion
is to give people something new to
discover
Hall 1 / Stand CD197
VINEXPO DAILY / PREVIEW / THURSDAY 9 TH MAY 2019 9