2023 Domaine d’Ouréa Gigondas, Rhône Valley, France

ABOUT THIS WINE

The Grand Montmirail from where this wine hails, is a great kimmeridgian limestone terroir, which sits at an altitude of 400 meters. The lower part of the slope is made up of red marl, which adds depth. In the middle and upper slopes, the limestone gives the wines tension, breed and verticality. This particular vineyard was planted in 1975.

100% Grenache harvested by hand, not destemmed, then crushed, & macerated for 2 weeks. Natural vinification is completed with no added oenological products. Light amounts of sulfites were added before bottling. This wine was aged only in concrete tank to preserve the purity, delicacy and original taste of the place. 

ABOUT THIS PRODUCER

Domaine d’Ouréa is a small Southern Rhône estate founded by Adrien Roustan in 2009, when he returned to Vacqueyras to take over vineyards previously farmed by his grandfather. The domaine works primarily in Vacqueyras and Gigondas, including dramatic high-elevation parcels in the Dentelles de Montmirail. Its name comes from Ouréa, the mountain deity of Greek mythology, inspired by the estate’s highest vineyard at 520 meters.

Roustan began converting the vineyards to organic farming from the outset, achieving organic certification in 2012, and later moving toward biodynamic practices. His vineyards are farmed by hand with an emphasis on healthy soils and expressing the differences between each site. In the cellar, the approach is equally restrained, favoring natural fermentations, gentle extraction, minimal intervention, and concrete rather than new oak.

The resulting wines offer a particularly fresh and elegant interpretation of the Southern Rhône. Rather than emphasizing power and ripeness, Roustan seeks energy, florality, finesse, and a clear sense of terroir. His high-elevation Gigondas vineyards, with their limestone-rich soils, are especially important to this style, producing wines that balance the generosity of Grenache with freshness and structure.