Olivier Leriche leaves Domaine de l'Arlot

Owned by the wine arm of insurance group AXA, Domaine de l’Arlot’s Olivier Leriche has resigned from his post to run his own estate in the Ardeche.

Leriche has been with the Cote de Nuits producer Arlot since 1998, which has been run organically since 2000. He left on 12 August but had told AXA of his decision in January to allow a replacement to be appointed.

Leriche and his wife will now run Domaine des Accoles, near to Coux, 40 kilometres south-west of Valence. Leriche told decanter.com, 'We have been lucky to find a very interesting vineyard with many vines more than 50-60 years old in the southern Ardeche. It's a little known region but we have thought highly of it for several years.

'We wish to work in the same spirit we have developed at l'Arlot: a sensitive approach to the vines - we have already started the conversion to biodynamics and will start applying the first biodynamic prepartions in autumn,' he added.