Clos Saouma


— About —

IN THE BEGINNING
Finding a spot & the birth of Arioso, their first wine from CNDP

They started with purchasing a 2 hectare plot in the lieu-dit Pignan in 2009 as they believe it’s the most elegant expression of Grenache from Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Most would agree considering the famed Chateau Rayas have vineyards in this same sub region. The vineyard was planted almost 100% with Grenache, vines planted prior to 1942 and a second parcel during the second world war. A small portion of Mourvedre was also existing in the vineyard.

In CNDP it’s not as simple as opening a cheque book. You need to apply to the local administrator and state your case why you are buying the vineyard and convince them on your reasoning. Mounir tells the story that when meeting the administrator he asked Mounir why a Burgundian winemaker would want to buy/start a Domaine in Châteauneuf. With a typical cheeky yet considered response Mounir replied:

“I want to a make a bottle of Châteauneuf that two people can open & enjoy/finish together”

The point he was making was that he passionately believed they could make a wine of with elegance from this vineyard, as others have proved. Given that the French often refer to Grenache as “The Pinot of the South” it’s easy to understand why Mounir and Rotem wanted to purchase vineyards here.

In addition to the pure technical side Rotem and Mounir had lots of friends and peers in the region and loved the area, summers spent with the family.

 

THE FIRST VINTAGE

Mounir & Rotem vinified their initial vintages at Chateau Beaucastel and while this was happening they searched then purchased a property just outside Orange where they began construction of their own winery and planted vines for what would become their Côtes-du-Rhône Villages bottlings.

 

VINEYARDS

Plantings for Magis + Omnia

Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc + Rouge

In addition to the 2 hectares in Pignan they now own approximately 8 to 9 hectares in Châteauneuf for red production across all five communes and 2.5 hectares for white Châteauneuf.

Of these ‘white’ vineyards the majority are from 2 key parcels. 1.7 Hectares are from pierredon – Mounir refers to this stylistically as the Perrieres of CNDP, sandy soil with the ‘roots’ of the mountains to the East running under the vineyard. They also have 0.8 Hectares from Le Pointu, the highest point in the appellation. Rayas & Bonneau also have plantings in Pointu. In addition, they have smaller plots in Palstor & Guigassa which goes into the overall blend.

For Omnia (CNDP Rouge) in addition to the original 2 hectare vineyard in Pignan (first purchased in 2009) Clos Saouma have acquired further vineyards in fact most recently another 3 hectares just one minute down the road North of Pignan.

In addition they blend these parcels in the North with grapes from the four other communes of Châteauneuf) being Châteauneuf-du-Pape (Centre), Orange (North), Bedarrides (South East) & Sorgues(South).

 

Plantings for Inopia

Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Blanc + Rouge

They planted approximately 9 hectares of vines in 2014 consisting of mostly Grenache Noir and Grenache Blanc around the winery in Orange but including a full spread of the other permitted varietals in the Rhone. These vines were planted to specifically produce Inopia, their Côtes-du-Rhône Villages.

In more recent times they have acquired further white vineyards and are in the process of grafting over some beautiful Syrah older rootstock to white varietals.

 

Overall Production

White as important as Red

Clos Saouma is very unique in Châteauneuf. One of the key points of difference is that 40% of their production is white wine in a region dominated by red wine production. To give context white represents under 5% of the total production of Châteauneuf- du-Pape.

Since starting in 2009 they have now approximately 15 hectares under vine, with almost the enteritiy of the production coming from their own vineyards. Just a small parcel of white is purchased from a friend for the Inopia Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Blanc however with the additional purchases and grafting taking place it will soon be 100% from their own vineyards.

Rotem reminds me that Clos Saouma don’t have a ‘aim’ or ‘goal’ with the share of production between white and red but they have been increasing the plantings of white and when an opportunity present’s itself they consider, slowly and simply.

 

WINEMAKING

To understand the wines Clos Saouma is to understand a little their winemaking philosophy of their Burgundian wines. They employ some of the same techniques they use in Burgundy yet in the Rhone they manage every stage of the process, starting with the vineyards they own and all aspects of winemaking through to bottling.

To help I’ve summarised the key aspects of their Lucien le Moine winemaking from Burgundy but to be clear they didn’t simply bring a ‘formula’ to work from and employ this in Châteauneuf.

They came to the South with their experiences from Burgundy but with fresh eyes and huge respect to the local traditions. It’s most certainly not Burgundy in a Châteauneuf-du-Pape bottle. It’s their expression and love of this unique terrior.

 

ALL THE LEES

First off it’s important to understand the pressing and lees component. Upon pressing their Rhone wines for both white and red (white juice and red wine post primary ferment) no racking takes place at any point, thus what they call the ‘dirty juice’, keeping every last drop of lees. To put in context, it would be fair to say ‘most’ wineries use between 1 to 2 litres of gross lees. They want at a minimum 5 to 7 litres of lees in each barrel. This is of course an approximation but if you visit the domaine and see for yourself it’s amazing.

 

Why do they use so much lees?

Clos Saouma often uses the simplest example of cloudy/with bits Orange juice vs filtered, who can argue which one tastes better. They believes so much of the soul/terrior of each site is contained in the lees of the pressings, brings an added dimension of texture to the wines. The other key reason which is explained below is they help protect the wine during long aging at very low sulphur levels.

“The lees are the living memory of the vine. They are needed to be wines that are able to age. Age-ability of the wines, all our wines is a key point” – Rotem Saouma

 

COLD CELLAR + LONG ELEVAGE

When Mounir and Rotem started building their winery in Orange a key element to this was finding a way to mimic the same conditions in their cellar in Beaune, most importantly one that was naturally humid and very cool, more of a challenge in the warmer region of the Rhone Valley. One of the key ideals of their Burgundian operation Lucien le Moine is the attempt to replicate the ‘traditional’ ways of making wine in Burgundy which was very hands off. Before the ‘LOFI’ or natural wine movement poked it’s head the monastery’s of Burgundy were employing such techniques simply due to mitigating factors such as a colder climate and that they didn’t have the time or technology to mess about with the wines during ferment and elevage.

 

TIME + NO RACKING = TEXTURE

Rotem teased me once by asking if I’ve ever racked a barrel using a hand pump. I went a rather deep shade of red and admitted I hadn’t had the pleasure. She reminded me that it can take up to 1.5 hours to do. She was making a point. Early winemaking in Burgundy and the ways of life at the time meant Monasteries/early Domaines weren’t regularly racking their wines, it was simply a lot of work. Wine was left on lees for the full aging process.

Clos Saouma’s wines have very long elevage, some up to 60 months in some cases on full lees, giving the wine time to ‘feed’ as Mounir puts it on the lees, adding texture and complexity. Regular battonage takes place (dependant on vintage) to further help the lees contact with the wine. A common signature tasting note of Clos Saouma’s white’s for example is ‘dry extract’, that texture of tart/dryness/mouthfeel that is in part from the extended lees contact.

 

VERY JUDICIOUS ON SULPHUR DURING AGING + NO RACKING

If any sulphur is added it’s during the initial pressing/collection of juice. Where possible the wines are made under little to no sulphur for the entirety of their elevage (let’s remember this can be up to 2 to 5 years), relying on CO2 and the large qty of lees to protect the wine. A small amount is then added just a couple of months before bottling.

By not racking it allows the wines to retain a-lot of natural CO2 present from the fermentation that would normally dissipate when moving from barrel to barrel/tank.

Mounir has often reminded me by making the wine ‘a friend of oxygen’ ie not putting a blanket of sulphur over it when it’s in it’s infancy is a key component for Clos Saouma in the ability for the wines to shine/age. Sulphur is added at prior to bottling but in small amounts with larger than normal CO2 in still wine, left from the elevage. No fining or filtration, bottled by gravity. An important note for all Lucien le Moine + Clos Saouma wines is to double decant them due to this higher level of CO2. They are not fizzy :), just helps them open up.

Rotem reminded me that as with everything there is not a recipe. They observe, absorb & learn. These wines are not sulphur free and are not promoted as such. They just try to use as little as possible.

 

THE BARRELS

Unlike Lucien le Moine at Clos Saouma they use a variety of aging vessels, including cement egg and large format oak due to the differences in terrior & grape varieties.