“A Granitic Fist in a Velvet Glove.” I remember the first time reading this phrase and thinking to myself how perfectly evocative of a description it was for the bottles that I have been obsessed with since I first got into the business; a poetic and pinpoint depiction of the wines that emanate from that particular nook in Eastern France ranging from the Crus of Beaujolais to the hills of the Northern Rhône and everything in between. A place where Gamay is given stoney structure and Syrah finds its most elegant forms seem to meld amidst delicate perfumes of dessicated flowers, crushed rock, cracked pepper, and mistral winds.
I love tasting these wines side by side and if possible, blind, because when perceptions are stripped back, we begin to realize the intrinsic nature of these wines are more similar than they ever could be different.
About La Souteronne
This leads me to a wine that I have been enjoying vintage after vintage for the past 6 years, a wine that spiritually embodies this particular sweet spot between regions that at times seem diametrically different to one another. Hervé Souhaut’s La Souteronne is for all intents and purposes a wine of Gamay, but it is so much more than the simple sum of parts – it’s buoyant and jovial swaths of red and black fruit the variety is known for find contrast with the meatier, savory elements of smoke, mineral, and dark, brooding florality.
How La Souteronne Is Made
Over half a century old selection massale vines of Gamay planted on granite across eights sites throughout the Ardeche and the Northern Rhône is where the wine begins its life. These rugged parcels are worked entirely by hand (no machinery or chemicals make an appearance at any point in the viticultural process) as the grapes are hand picked and sorted in the vineyard ensuring that only the healthiest bunches of berries are included in the mix. As a nod to the fermentation traditions of Beaujolais to the north, the fruit is kept entirely as whole clusters and left to a long and slow maceration at cool temperatures, ensuring levity amongst intensity as the wine ages in older oak and stainless steel for a year before bottling.
La Souteronne 2022 Tasting Notes
An exploratory wine, one that feels familiar yet indescribable at the same time, as a mauve-tinted bouquet of fig jam, pink peppercorn, sicilian oregano, and black cherry give way to an equal parts sumptuous and textural palate of umeboshi, tamarind pulp, tomato leaf, and เลือด (Thai blood “tofu”).
My most fond memory of this wine is drinking a bottle years ago in Kanchanburi, served with a slight chill and gulped alongside crispy bites of sour fermented, deep-fried pork spare ribs, and I hope that this bottle can bring you, the drinker, the same joy of discovery that it did for me.
What the Critics Say
“Lurid violet. Sharply delineated aromas of mineral-tinged blue fruit, cherry, and candied flowers, along with suggestions of exotic spices and musky earth. Juicy and energetic in the mouth, offering palate-staining boysenberry, bitter cherry, and spicecake flavors and a touch of succulent herbs. Finishes sweet, velvety, and impressively long, leaving floral pastille and smoky mineral notes behind. Made entirely with whole clusters.”
92 Points for the ’18 Vintage from Josh Raynolds for Vinous
Wine Details
- Wine: Hervé Souhaut La Souteronne 2022
- Region: Rhône Valley, France
- Grape: Gamay
- Vines: Selection massale, over 50 years old, planted on granite
- ABV: 12.5%
Interested in ordering a bottle? Or discovering more wines from Hervé Souhaut and his Romaneaux Destezet project in the Rhône and Ardeche? Send us an email at order@winegarage.asia.