Meet Nicolas Carmarans
Aveyron is a special part of the world: here, vineyards grow in hard, stony soils alongside forests, and there is a genuine tranquillity to the region that is often lacking in many of the wine regions we frequent around the world. However on our first visit here, we were stunned at how quaint and quiet it was. The perfect place to make wine, no less.
Nicolas’s journey into wine is not unique to the region though. Historically, Aveyron thrived off a burgeoning mining industry, and was also a region with over 2000ha under vine. But with the collapse of the mining sector, and Phylloxera decimating the local vineyards, many people decided to abandon their land and move to Paris in search of a better life, Nicolas’s grandfather included. He moved to Paris from Aveyron to work in a local bistro, and years later, Nicolas followed in the footsteps of his. This is perhaps where Nicolas’s journey served him exceptionally well. Many years spent in the Parisian trade running the famous Café de la Nouvelle Mairie opened his eyes to a world of gastronomy that shaped his palate and understanding of wine. It was with this experience that he forged his return to Aveyron to start making his own wines on just 0.3ha of land back in 2000. Initially, his time was split between Paris and Aveyron, before committing to the project full-time in 2007 with the purchase of his vineyard Le Mauvais Temps.
The region is perfectly suited to the late ripening local red variety, Fer Servadou: days are warm, but the chilly evenings allow the grape to slowly reach phenolic ripeness (Nicolas usually picks in October.) His wines are quite atypical of Aveyron. They are terroir wines, and he plays custodian to a multitude of them. His Chenin Blanc, Selves, is grown in decomposed granitic soils (planted in 2003, 2004 & 2009), whilst the reds, Maximus, Mauvais Temps and Fer de Sang, are rooted in red clay, limestone and granite respectively.
Traditionally, wines from Aveyron are rustic and tannic, but Nicolas produces very pure, very clean and elegant expressions.
