Domaine Saint-Damien Plan de Dieu Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Vieilles Vignes 2024

Saint-Damien Plan de Dieu Vieilles Vignes is a fleshy red wine with bursts of plum, black cherry, dark raspberry, licorice and oak, complemented by savory garrigue herbs, peppery spice and hints of olive and clove. It has juicy fruit, fine-grained tannins and a long, spicy, aromatic finish. Full and complex, with some tertiary notes of framboise and spring flowers emerging on the nose. This wine is rich and balanced, medium-bodied and supple, juicy and enveloping, built around a fleshy core of fruit and framed by velvety tannins with enough structure to age.

A blend of 80% Grenache Noir and 20% Mourvèdre, the grapes are sourced from the lower terraced parcels of the Plan de Dieu lieu-dit, in the commune of Violès. The Grenache vines are over 70 years old (planted in 1948) and come from two sites, one on red clay and the other on galets (smooth river-worn pebbles). The younger Mourvèdre vines (planted in 2010) are on sandy soil. The wine is fermented for 30 days in concrete vats, then matured for 10 months in a mix of concrete tanks and large old 50 hL oak foudres. The wine is bottled without fining or filtration.

Domaine Saint-Damien is run by Joel and Amie Saurel and their son Romain who has now taken charge of the winemaking. The Saurel family had been tending vineyards for four generations, dating back to 1821, and until recently had been selling all of the grapes to negociants. In 1996 Joel resumed producing wine at the estate and in 1998 they brought on consulting winemaker Philippe Cambie. Vinification is classic with wines being fermented in large old cement tanks and aged in either cement tanks or large old foudres.

Today the estate is comprised of 17 hectares of vineyards, of which 12 are in Gigondas. All their vineyards are certified organic since 2012. The vines are an average age of 50 years and are very low yielding. The wines of Gigondas are bottled according to individual terroir (particularly soil type) known as the Saint Damien Trilogy. Incredibly complex geology and soil translates to terrific results in the wine.