WINE AGENCY
Rouanne
Vinsobres
A new big chapter in the winemaker's life of star vigneron Louis Barruol of Château de Saint Cosme in Gigondas.
Rouanne is an exceptional terroir located in Vinsobres and an exceptional estate of 63 hectares , all run in certified organic viticulture. Just like Saint Cosme, we can predict Rouanne is going to be quickly a strong leader and benchmark, and a tremendous value for money wine.
For Louis Barruol, Rouanne is above all a conviction: it is a search of beauty and excellence.
The village of Vinsobres obtained Cru status in 2006. Although not as well-known as its peers, its classification puts it on a par with Gigondas, Chateauneuf-du-Pape, Cote-Rotie and Hermitage, which speaks volumes about the quality of its terroir. Located along the edge of the Alps, Vinsobres boasts first-rate geology and a cool climate.
Rouanne Red
Vinsobres AOP
50% Grenache - 40% Syrah – 10% Mourvèdre
Pliocene marl and limestone
Average vine age 50, farmed organically
Traditional co-fermentation in concrete tanks. Wild ferments.
18 months’ ageing in tanks.
The 2018 Château de Rouanne Vinsobres is a co-fermentation of our old vine Grenache, Mourvèdre and Syrah. Most of Rouanne’s vineyards date from the 1960s - the massal selections offer substantial genetic diversity and low yields. The intensity and soul displayed by the wines from these vineyards are outstanding.
The 2018 contains wine from only the finest part of our hillside, namely the ‘middle’, akin to the Côte de Nuits, where the finest growths are always located halfway up the hillside. Instantly acclaimed by the French, British and American press, this first Vinsobres will act as a benchmark – it is the starting point of our story. Behind every bottle of wine is a bond between a person, a family and a place. Château de Rouanne is an extraordinary place in many respects, primarily for its terroir. Very few locations in the southern Rhone can boast vineyard sites of this pedigree, on this scale and with such consistency at a high level.
The 2018 vintage only goes to prove once again the ability of Rouanne’s vineyards to naturally overcome the challenges thrown up by the vintage: this disposition in some ways reminds me of Hominis Fides. I ask that you be attentive and patient: Rouanne’s wines age very well and are disconcertingly robust.
Raspberry, violet, liquorice, black pepper, peony and gingerbread. Rouanne offers up a characteristic saline, delicate, rounded palate.
Bottled unfiltered.
Rouanne Brut Nature
Comté de Grignan Sparkling
‘Brut nature’ with no dosage
Pliocene limestone sand and marl
Average vine age 50, farmed organically
Slow pressing. Fermentation and ageing in concrete tanks.
Bottle fermentation in February 2020.
Apart from some very successful Champagnes, the ideal location for growing sparkling rosés remains to be found. In the same way that Provence once showed the world that it was the most felicitious region for growing rosés, I think that finding the prime location for sparkling rosés is still very much a blank canvas. Situated within view of the Alps, the lower part of the hillside at Château de Rouanne benefits from the cool, dry influence of the icy Pontias wind that sweeps across the hills before cooling the entire Aygues valley. Consequently, the old vines grown on limestone and marl can ripen slowly, yielding ripe and intensely expressive fruit at alcohol levels low enough to conceivably produce balanced sparkling wines. Picked in the early hours, the grapes undergo lengthy pressing, after which the juice is put through a rigorous settling regime. Then follows long fermentation in our traditional concrete vats. There is no added sugar at all. With its aromas of flint and wild strawberry, our first vintage Brut Nature develops fine, clean and energetic bubbles that will provide you with a delicious treat for evenings throughout the summer of 2020.Flint, wild strawberry. Freshness, length and tension on the palate.
Wine Spectator
Vinsobres Château de Rouanne 2018
Score : 91
Features a core of gently steeped plum and boysenberry fruit, laced with a mouthwatering anise note and gilded with sandalwood and violet hints throughout. Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. Drink now through 2023. 25,000 cases made, 1,500 cases imported.—J.M.
16/20
Revue
du Vin
de France
