Five key producers driving the Rasteau renaissance
DOMAINE ELODIE BALME
After her studies and winemaking stages at two excellent producers, Domaine Beau Mistral (in Rasteau) and Domaine Richaud (Cairanne), Balme returned to the family estate in 2006. At this point, her father was still sending the fruit to the local cooperative, but after building a winery, Balme started to make and bottle the wine herself. The style here embodies the new school of Rasteau winemaking: immediate and fruit-drenched, but retaining a solid Rasteau framework. You can taste it in her dry Rasteau and her sweet Rasteau vin doux naturel, also in her excellent Côtes du Rhône Villages Roaix, the next appellation to the east. She is now converting her 17ha estate to organic.
DOMAINE GRAMILLER
Relatively new, set up in 2017, but Frédéric Julien has been working his 22ha of vines for more than 20 years, having previously delivered the fruit to the local cooperative. He’s been working organically for 15 of those years, and some of his parcels are more than 100 years old. He makes 14 different wines from numerous appellations, but his Rasteau bottlings are particularly fine, brimming with vivid red fruit and bright acidity.
DOMAINE LA LUMINAILLE
Though the leap from sommelier to winemaker came rather more suddenly than she had planned, Julie Paolucci has taken to her new calling with skill and sensitivity. The small family winery is based in lieu-dit La Luminaille, high in the hills to the north of the village of Rasteau, and surrounded by organically farmed bush vines – mostly old-vine Grenache, but also plenty of Syrah, Carignan, Cinsault and Mourvèdre. She grows white varieties, too, and makes white and rosé wines within the Rasteau appellation borders, but bottled as Côtes du Rhône or Vin de France. Whatever the colour, expect wines of freshness, vibrancy and detail.
DOMAINE MIKAEL BOUTIN
Mikaël Boutin trained as a lorry mechanic, but his real love was food and drink. So he took to working in vineyards; at Domaine de la Vieille Julienne in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Le Clos de Caveau in Vacqueyras, then with his uncle in Rasteau. When his uncle retired, Boutin took over his father’s 2.5ha of vines, converting them to organic. ‘The aim is to make bottles that are finished by the end of the meal,’ he says. He only makes one Rasteau cuvée, named MB: a savoury expression with freshness and salinity that gives it a great sense of drinkability.
DOMAINE WILFRIED
Brother and sister Wilfried and Réjane Pouzoulas took over the family estate in 2007, converting it to organic and moving towards low-intervention. They have 36ha across Cairanne and Rasteau, mostly in the lower-lying vineyards of Rasteau. The Septentrion is a particularly fine and ageworthy expression of old-vine Grenache, but don’t overlook their cuvée classique Rasteau, too.
The fresh approach: Walls’ 12 new-school Rasteaus to try
1 Domaine M Boutin, MB 2019 94
US$21-$22 MacArthur Beverages, The Cellar d’Or A savoury, leathery style that’s medium- to full-bodied with great volume but piercing freshness. Rounded, juicy tannins, with remarkable salinity and cut – no sucrosité here. Long finish with tight, chalky tannins. Organic. Drink 2022-2030 Alcohol 14.5%
2 Domaine La Luminaille, Luminaris 2020 93
domainelaluminaille.com
Beautifully expressive strawberry, black cherry aromas. Light- to medium-bodied for a Rasteau, great freshness and precision, no heaviness or excess alcohol. Fine tannins. So drinkable. Drink 2022-2026 Alc 14.5%
3 Domaine des Amadieu, La Copado 2020 92
£19.95 Stone Vine & Sun
Only medium-bodied but with good concentration; violets, black cherries and blueberries. The tannins are fine and discreet, saturated in juice. A lovely modern Rasteau, more compact than most, that has developed well since bottling. Biodynamic. Drink 2022-2028 Alc 15%
Domaine Elodie Balme 2020 92
£21.95 Lea & Sandeman
Spicy notes and flinty freshness over bramble and raspberry fruit. Generous, rounded and fruity without excessive weight, sweetness, alcohol or extraction. Good freshness, bright acidity and a good sense of tension. The new school. Drink 2022-2029 Alc 15%
4 Domaine Gramiller, Les Marcels 2019 92
£19.99-£21.95 (2020) Cambridge Wine Merchants, Swig
Well-defined red berry fruits, gentle and sweetly fruited on the palate with good acidity. Fine and precise tannins, along with gently warming alcohol but good finesse. From a 2.2ha plot of stony marls, with some of the vines dating back to 1901. Organic. Drink 2022-2025 Alc 15%
Domaine la Soumade, Cuvée Prestige 2019 92
£20.95-£22.95 Christopher Keiller, Harrogate Wines, NY Wines, South Downs Cellars
With raspberry, plum and blackberry notes, this is fresh but generous, with fine, ripe tannins and balanced acidity. Good sense of tension and finesse that makes for a restrained Rasteau given the heat of the vintage. Drink 2022-2026 Alc 15%
Domaine Purviti, Raconte-moi 2021 92
purviti.fr
Bramble and blueberry fruit lead onto a full-bodied palate that’s generous but not heavy, filling the mouth with fruit. Good acidity and moderate alcohol, with such freshness. A touch of Carignan chewiness, but no coarse tannins. An impressive newcomer. Biodynamic. Drink 2022-2027 Alc 14%
Domaine des Banquettes 2019 91
See Facebook Lovely rich fruit on the nose and palate. The acidity is quite driving; it’s a big, powerful wine with smooth tannins, juicy and fine. The aromas are like liquorice and pounded violets. Well balanced, with good tannic finesse. Drink 2022-2026 Alc 15%
5 Domaine Notre Dame des Pallières, Les Ribes 2019 91
£19.70 Master of Malt Fine, elegant Rasteau perfume. Cooling, juicy black and red berry fruits. Very fine tannins. Really shows the elegance of high-altitude Rasteau. Grippy finish, good acidity. Drink 2023-2026 Alc 15.5%
6 Domaine Wilfried 2017 91
domainewilfried.com
Harmonious nose. Rounded and juicy, fruit coulis style. Tannins are present but buffed a little, and it ends fairly long. Black cherry yoghurt flavours. A nice stage of maturity now. Organic. Drink 2022-2025 Alc 14.5%
Domaine Brusset, La Bastide 2020 90
£18.25-£22 Chiltern Wines, The Fine Wine Co, The Great Wine Co Gorgeous Mourvèdre violets on display, strawberry and raspberry notes. Not overly full or over-extracted. Chalky tannins, a touch green on the finish. Ends with fresh strawberry acidity. Drink 2023-2027 Alc 14%
Domaine des Girasols, L’Arbre de Vie 2019 89
girasols.com
Forest berries, black cherry, tea leaves and a touch of menthol. Medium-bodied, not overly extracted. Crunchy cranberry fruit on the gently warming finish. Estate owned by Jon Larum, who previously worked at Robert Mondavi. Drink 2023-2027 Alc 15%