Chateau de Rouanne Vinsobres Les Côtes
Wine Description
Château de Rouanne is a historic estate with a 12th century medieval castle, situated on a classified Roman site located in the southern Rhône Valley. The name of the estate comes from "Rugius", which is said to be the name of the original Roman owner. The estate totals 177 acres (72 hectares), including 153 acres (62 hectares) of vines. Château de Rouanne was purchased by Louis Barruol, owner and winemaker of Château de Saint Cosme, in May of 2019. Barruol sees enormous potential in Château de Rouanne, having worked with the previous owners for years as a source for some of his négociant wines. “It reminds me a lot of Saint Cosme when I took it over in 1992. It’s an unknown sleeping beauty waiting for a vigneron to truly love it.”
The vineyard of Château de Rouanne is a unique single block, planted entirely with 50+ year old vines, which are a selection massale of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre. The ancient terroir is comprised of limestone and sandy marl soils dating back to the Pliocene epoch.
The Les Côtes lieu-dit is a 1-hectare plot located at the top of the Rouanne hill, and represents one of three prime vineyard sites of the estate. The clay soils have good drainage and the vines are low yielding with small, delicate berries - these are the perfect ingredients for intensity, concentration, and structure. This wine is impressive in its youth and will continue to develop and reach its prime with extended bottle aging.