Mercantour, France
Les Senteurs du Claut
An aromatic farm born from a forgotten olive mill at the gateway to the Mercantour.
Wild harvesting, artisanal distillation and botanical transmission rooted in stone, wind and medicinal plants.
Alpes-Maritimes, France
A distillery shaped by twenty-five years of restoration and devotion to plants.
In 1996, Sylviane and Alain fell in love with an abandoned olive mill hidden within the mountains. Over the years, the place slowly became a deeply rooted aromatic farm.
They restored the stone building, revived the olive groves and brought abandoned land back into cultivation while designing their own still.
What resonates immediately at Les Senteurs du Claut is the coherence between the landscape, the plants and the act of distillation itself.
Transmission & territory
Sylviane, Alain, Christophe & Véronique
Region
Mercantour, France
Cultivation
5.5 hectares biologiques
Harvesting
Manual harvesting
Distillation
Artisanal still
Labels
AB · Nature & Progrès · SIMPLES
Founded
1996
Transmission
Knowledge transmitted across generations
Philosophy
Quality, ethics and respect for living systems
A rebirth
Bringing a forgotten mill back to life.
The still designed by Alain was installed in 1998 and first used to distill bay laurel, marking the beginning of a botanical and human adventure.
Over the years, the land was restored and diversified, and the farm became known for the quality of its essential oils and hydrolats.
In 2005, Sylviane expanded the work into natural cosmetics before gradually transmitting the project to Christophe and Véronique.
Why We Chose Them
“Here, distillation feels like a natural extension of the landscape itself.”
Les Senteurs du Claut embody a form of peasant aromatherapy rooted in patience, observation and transmission.
Their work reminds us that essential oils are not merely aromatic products but expressions of a living territory.
Wild terroir
Plants always carry the story of the landscape they come from.
Altitude, drought, stone and light shape the aromatic profiles here.
Their approach
A human-scale aromatic agriculture.
Harvesting & cultivation
Harvesting is done manually with careful attention to seasons, plant vitality and biodiversity.
Transmission
The Claut project is rooted in the daily transmission of know-how, not only in production.
Visit the farm
A place suspended between mountains, stone and medicinal plants.
Visitors are welcomed to discover the farm’s approach to cultivation and artisanal distillation.
The renovated GAEC headquarters now includes storage spaces, a laboratory, a meeting room and a small boutique.