Sources
Lavandes et Compagnie
A farm-distillery in the Drôme where Cathy and Vincent Deconstanza sow, harvest and distill on site, from seed to bottle.
A human-scale aromatherapy, rooted in the landscapes of the Saoû syncline.
Aouste-sur-Sye, Drôme
A complete production cycle, from seed to bottle.
At Ferme Peymée, in a mid-mountain zone at the edge of the Saoû forest, Cathy and Vincent Deconstanza cultivate and gather aromatic and medicinal plants across a family farm surrounded by preserved woodlands and moorlands.
Vincent oversees cultivation and distillation; Cathy formulates and transforms in the lab, registered with France's medicines safety agency (ANSM), using plants that are almost entirely farm-grown. Agnès rounds out the team in production and logistics.
Their cultivated varieties come from wild plants or original botanical stock, chosen to preserve their character through transformation — a rigor that echoes our own attention to chemotype rather than botanical name alone.
Farm Profile
Cathy & Vincent Deconstanza
Fine lavender, helichrysum, rosemary, linalool thyme — cultivated and wild-harvested, gently steam-distilled and formulated in an ANSM-registered lab, with no intermediary.
Production & practices
A complete, standardized production protocol.
The farm follows a UPI (Identified Production Unit) protocol that ensures full control over the production cycle and consistent quality, from seed to finished product.
Each plant is selected for its chemical profile, meeting the requirements of precision aromatherapy rather than a simple botanical name.
In the lab, Cathy develops a fresh-plant transformation technique called "Intégral de Plante®," designed to preserve as much of the plant's active constituents as possible.
This direct chain from cultivation and gathering through distillation and formulation, held by the same family, remains rare at this level of analytical rigor.
In Their Words
"Where we sow, cultivate, harvest, distill, filter, dry, macerate, extract, transform and package on site... from the birth of the plants to their metamorphoses, patiently, by hand, for products that are fresh, alive, olfactory, energetic."
— Cathy and Vincent Deconstanza, Lavandes et Compagnie
Why Lavandes et Compagnie
Laboratory rigor without ever leaving the field.
We chose Lavandes et Compagnie because few farms hold cultivation, wild harvesting, distillation and laboratory formulation together under one roof, in an ANSM-registered lab. This isn't a distillery that also sells cosmetics — it's one family gesture running from seed to finished product, with no subcontracting.
What convinced us was their chemotype-driven approach: cultivated varieties are chosen to preserve the character of the wild plant or original stock, rather than for yield alone. It's a reading of the plant close to our own — chemical composition before botanical label.
Why this source
A family farm-distillery in the Drôme uniting cultivation, harvesting, distillation and ANSM-registered laboratory formulation, with a chemotype rigor rare at this scale.
Ecological sourcing
Low-intervention cultivation
Organic farming, biodynamics, diversified and manual systems.
Aromatic transformation
Integrated artisanal distillation
Own still, full process control, low pressure distillation.
Producer relationship
Direct producer relationship
Fully controlled chain from producer to product.
How we evaluate our sources
Each source is evaluated along three axes: the ecological origin of the plant, the integrity of the transformation process, and the nature of our relationship with the producer. This grid doesn't replace our judgment — it makes it checkable.
The Saoû Syncline
A laboratory that begins in a field.
Dozens of plants cultivated or gathered at the edge of the Saoû forest.
Further Exploration
What chemotype actually changes.
A plant's botanical name doesn't tell the whole story of its essential oil. These articles explain why chemotype and distillate freshness make a concrete difference.
Discover the Farm
An immersion into the landscapes of the Drôme.
The farm offers essential oils, hydrolats, cosmetics and wellness preparations from a production entirely controlled from seed to bottle.
Professional Sourcing
Is this the right producer for your need?
Finding Lavandes et Compagnie is only the first step. Knowing whether their oil, chemotype and production capacity actually fit your project is another matter, that's the work I do with the brands, formulators and practitioners who reach out to me.