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Souillard Côte-Rôtie is not your average Côte-Rôtie! Jean-Baptise works with two terroirs in this appellation. Tartaras is one of Côte-Rôtie’s highest vineyards, sitting at 320 metres above Ampuis. This is from the Coteaux de Bassenon, the southernmost terroir in Côte-Rôtie, part of the Côte Blonde and touching Condrieu. It is a very small (0.1 hectare) east-facing parcel at 280 metres above sea level. The soil is broken-down granite and sand with topsoil measuring just 40 to 50 centimetres. Jean-Michel Stéphan also farms 1.5 hectares here—although Souillard’s section is considerably more modest.
Souillard says, “We’re on sandy soils that produce very elegant wines. It’s a real coteau with terraces, and grades of 60-65%. The vines are not extremely old: one parcel is 15 years old, the other 35. Age of vines is less important in the northern Rhône since the roots have no choice but to plunge directly into the bedrock.” The Côte-Rôtie is fermented with partial whole clusters in tank and frequent pump-overs. This wine is aged longer in barrel—up to 20 months—although, again, none of this oak is new. Unfettered by high alcohol and woody flavours, it’s a pitch-perfect expression of earth-to-glass Côte Rôtie—all purity and dark minerals.