Hervé Souhaut
THE INSIDE WORD
To be an estate in the famed Saint-Joseph region is one thing. To be Hervé Souhaut—well, that’s another. Working from the northern Ardèche, Hervé has quietly carved out cult status by redefining what Northern Rhône–adjacent wines can be.
Rather than stretching across vast holdings, his vineyards are measured and meticulous — old-vine parcels carved into rugged granite slopes. The domaine began in 1993, when Hervé and his wife Béatrice converted the cellars of her parents’ centuries-old hunting lodge into their winery. Today, they draw fruit from four parcels within Saint-Joseph totalling just 8.5 acres, alongside roughly 20 acres of Vin de Pays vineyards on the surrounding plateau.
Production is tiny, releases are understated, and bottles disappear quickly into the hands of sommeliers and collectors who know. In a region where size and status often dominate the conversation, this level of intimacy is rare. Yet it’s this very scarcity, integrity and word-of-mouth devotion that have placed him firmly in cult territory.
CULT STATUS
Rather, these wines are vibrant from the outset. Energetic and alive—often lighter on their feet than expected, yet never lacking depth. There’s a compelling tension between freshness and seriousness that makes them both immediately drinkable and thought-provoking.
They reward curiosity over expectation. And once you’ve opened one, it’s hard not to look for the next release.