La Maison Angelvin

 

La Maison Angelvin, located between Riez and Puimoisson, has been producing, harvesting and distilling essential oils for 4 generations now! From its creation in 1957 by “grandpa” Louis Angelvin, the distillery has never stopped evolving. Today, “La Maison Angelvin” offers you quality local products: essential oils, olive oil, honey, almonds … The best is to find out for yourself! On the Valensole plateau in the heart of our beautiful Provence, a magnificent checkerboard of colors is available to you. The purple of the lavender fields contrasts with the light yellow of the durum wheat fields. The subtle pink of clary sage and the yellow of immortal flowers complete the picture. You will also discover the fields of olive and almond trees, emblematic and unmissable trees of our beautiful Provence.

1957

Creation of the distillery

It was in 1957 that “Pépé Louis” Angelvin created his distillery, one of the first on the VALENSOLE plateau. The Lavandin was then cut with a sickle, put into bundles by hand, and dried for a week in the field, in a “gerbier” (standing).

Then, once dry, they were forked onto a trailer and then headed to the distillery.

Finally, Lucien the son was in charge of the distillation. He piled up the fagots in the tank, where steam passed through, to then end up in the condenser. When it came out, you could see this precious oil appear.

1974

The arrival of the 1st mechanical cutter

The year 1974 saw the arrival with great fanfare of the first mechanical cutter. So it’s a big step forward and Lucien is having a field day on his new machine. As for his son, 13-year-old Jean, was eagerly waiting for mealtime to replace him.

1990

The end of hand picking

The self-loading machine made its late appearance in 1990, thus replacing the manual collection. Moreover, the area of modernization is in full swing, and we can feel the beginnings of total mechanization.

1995

The new distillery

Lucien and Jean, always in search of renewal, felt that the bundle harvesting system had reached the end of its day.

This is why, taking inspiration from the model of mint harvesting in the United States and some pioneering neighbors, Lucien and Jean designed their own distillery.

In 1995, the new distillery was born at La maison Angelvin: crushed green process (crushed stems and flowers): 3-row forage harvester with towed boxes, fuel oil boiler distillation, evaporative condenser.

Finally, in 1997 Lucien was able to retire with peace of mind, proud to have invented and developed the Evaporative Condenser, leaving this beautiful tool to his son who took over the operation.

2015

The renovation of the distillery

Jean, as did Lucien in his time, left his mark on the work of harvesting and distilling lavender.

This is how he developed the 4-row forage harvester (the only one in France to date), developed the famous “Papa” condenser which has now become the standard for most last generation distilleries.

Lavandin harvest:

2021

The 4th generation of Maison Angelvin

The great grandchildren of “Pépé Louis” point the tip of their noses at the family farm. From now on, Jean can free up time to devote himself to the direct sale of his products, by creating his brand “La Maison Angelvin”.

Maison Angelvin is also local products

 

Farmer since 1984, Jean Angelvin, also cultivates clary sage, immortelle and sells olive oil, truffle pâté (melano sporum), lavender honey, almonds …