It hasn’t rained a drop of water for three weeks. In the valley of Mont-Joly, more than 100 hectares spread out here, at 1,740 meters above sea level. The place is completely empty of any ski-related activity, jealously preserved by its owner Dominique Muffat-Méridol. The flora is abundant there, a shepherd comes to pass the mountain pastures alone with his herd and his dogs. It seems that chamois wander there too. We are in Megève (Haute-Savoie), at the Domaine de la Sasse, where the spring water of the same name flows.
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Here, sources, ” there are plenty “says Vincent Delvar, general manager of Sources de la Sasse, “adventurer” 51-year-old northerner, launched into the project without any previous experience in the field of water. “Dominique told me ‘You’ll be dead if she [la source exploitée] will sink again”, says the co-partner of the company (with the company Chavaz Père & fils, specializing in quarrying). He looks back a hundred years, he inherited the place from his grandfather. Suffice to say that the drought does not really worry him for his business.
The flow of the first collection point on the property, called C1, is however down on July 22: it is measured at 5.5 liters per minute, when it rises rather between 10 and 15 liters in general. The C2 is doing well, with 42 liters per minute, and the C3, not yet used by the company, is measured at 58 liters per minute, when it is rather hovering around 60 to 90 liters per minute usually, according to figures from Vincent Delvar. “These springs will flow all the time,” assures the entrepreneur. “As long as there is snow”, he also admits, while “the place is sheltered and stays cool” adds Danièle François, the team’s laboratory assistant.
Rather posh clientele
“Our project is not to set up a gas plant and make millions of bottles. It’s about preserving resources, not depleting them. We will adapt according to them. And our production is adapted to our orders, storing is useless. » While marketing dates back to 2017, one million bottles in ten years is now the maximum stated objective. The clientele is rather upscale. At 6 euros excluding tax the 74 cl bottle, shaped by the Megève sculptor Pierre Margara and sold for up to 18 euros at the luxurious Four Seasons hotel in Megève, for example, the product is intended “highly valued” specifies the technical director Benoit Szymanski, intended first for the wealthy resorts of the Alps and dreamed of as a liquid as appreciated as wine.
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