Chateau de Rouanne Vinsobres Les Côtes

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.

Château de Rouanne
Rouanne Vineyards
Ancient Spring
Rouanne Tower
Chateau de Rouanne
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Acclaim
Full-bodied, concentrated, this has those tight, serrated Vinsobres tannins and balancing acidity. It's a big wine that will take a little while to come round. Perhaps just a touch overripe, but this has plenty of substance and guts. — Decanter, Sep 2021
“Hints of graphite, smoke and sun-scorched garrigue introduce this Syrah-dominant blend of Grenache and Mourvédre produced by Louis Barruol, the legendary Gigondas producer. Sourced from the top of the Rouanne hill, it’s rich with flavors of roasted plums and preserved blackberries balanced against a fresh vein of acidity and swathes of dried herb and spice. While approchable young, it’s a firm, tannic wine now that benefits from a decant.” — The New Wine Review, Nov 2023
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Vineyard & Production Info
Vineyard name
Château de Rouanne
Vineyard size
62 ha acres
Soil composition
Pliocene and Messinian marl, clay and limestone
Elevation:
984 feet
Exposure:
south/east
Harvest time:
Beginning of October
Bottles produced of this wine:
3,000
Average Vine Age:
50
Certified Eco-Friendly Practices:
Farmed organically
Sustainability Certification:
Organic ECOCERT
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Winemaking & Aging
Varietal composition:
Syrah - Mourvèdre - Grenache
Fermentation container:
Traditional co-fermentation in concrete tanks. Wild ferments.
Type of aging container:
12 months ageing in demi-muids and Burgundy casks
Total SO2
48
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Analytical Data
pH level:
3.88
Acidity:
2.99 g/L
Alcohol:
15 %
Dry extract:
33.1 g/L
Total SO2
48
Residual sugar:
0.32 g/L