Raphaël Lambelet, a wild romantic and meticulous creative, started out as a pastry chef and confectioner. He left the business shortly afterwards to devote himself to painting while working as a waiter on the side. Fascinated by the restaurant business, he finally got fully involved and opened his first bistro in 2002.

In 2010, he experienced his first natural love at first sight, and can't get over it: "The starting point for all this was Mylène Bru's La Bordigue. A red... I remember it like it was yesterday! The elegance and drinkability of Mylène Bru's wines imposed a new curiosity on the restaurateur, who began searching, tasting, spitting, discovering, swallowing and deploying this budding love for juices without inputs or sulfites.

By 2020, he and his friend Franz Hausamann were one of the two wine merchants behind Le Naturiste. The duo set out to explore even more of Switzerland, France and Alsace to meet the faces of contemporary natural winemaking. From winery to winery, Raph tastes countless keels. The desire to produce his own juice began to tease him. When will it all click? Fortunately, the epiphany is not long in coming...

In 2022/23, he worked with Jean-Michel Henrioud (Auvernier, NE), tending Chasselas and Pinot Noir vines typical of the region. It was then clear: this time, it was the restaurant business that he had to leave behind, to make room for an intimate and concrete contact with the land. Thus, guided by Henrioud - a pioneer of natural wine in the region, he is also the druid of the Littoral, preparing herbal teas for several estates - Elodie Kuntzer and Benoit de Montmollin, he finally launched himself as a winemaker.

And because you can't force destiny, but it comes naturally when you're in the right place, an acquaintance opened the cellar of an old building in Colombier (NE) for him. An unimaginable stroke of luck. Work began in winter 2023/24, in parallel with the vinification of the 2023 vintage.

Summoning the knowledge shared by the winemakers we met in the years leading up to this move, gleaning vineyards in the canton, the adventure began with the firm intention of working the land, living in it fully and understanding each vintage...