Côtes du Rhône Paul 2023 Domaine Saladin

The Côtes du Rhône Paul 2023 from Domaine Saladin is the domaine's most direct and appealing cuvée, a wine of immediate pleasure and genuine character, bearing the name of Paul Saladin, one of the patriarchs of this Ardèche family rooted on these lands since 1422. It is a red Côtes du Rhône from old vines planted with Grenache Noir and Clairette. Vinified without additives, with indigenous yeasts and minimal sulphur, it reflects artisanal and nature-respecting work. An original and typically Rhône assemblage, red and white side by side in the same vat, speaking volumes about the domaine's attachment to southern viticultural tradition.

The terroir and the vines

Domaine Saladin is located in Saint-Marcel-d'Ardèche, a southern village of the Côtes du Rhône South, on the right bank of the Rhône. The domaine's 18 hectares have always been hand-harvested, cultivated and vinified organically, with 13 Rhône varieties. The Paul cuvée comes from vines of Grenache Noir interplanted with Clairette, an ancestral practice of the Rhône valley consisting of mixing red and white varieties in the same row, harvested and vinified together. This interplanting, inherited from the old vines that Louis and Paul Saladin planted several decades ago, is one of the most captivating viticultural traditions of the southern Rhône vignoble, bringing to the wine a freshness and aromatic finesse that white Clairette naturally imparts to the generous solar character of Grenache. The vines are planted on the high alluvial beds of rolled pebbles of the Rhône, that characteristic substrate of Saint-Marcel-d'Ardèche which captures heat during the day, gently releases it at night, and nourishes the vines with natural minerality and tension. Micro-cuvée vinifications follow the grain of the skin, stem, pips, and intuition. No additives are used except sulphur, in minimal dose. Aged in concrete vat, it unveils intense aromas of dark fruits, spices and garrigue. On the palate, it offers fine structure, finesse and balanced freshness.

Tasting profile

The colour is a bright, limpid and appetising ruby red. The nose is immediately expressive and generous: aromas of ripe red and dark fruits, cherry, raspberry, blackberry, impose themselves with naturalness and spontaneity, lifted by peppery touches of Provençal garrigue, thyme and bay leaf, and a light smoky note characteristic of Grenache on rolled pebbles. The Clairette brings a floral and slightly lemony touch that freshens the bouquet and gives it an immediately identifiable aromatic singularity. On the palate, the wine is supple, fruity and of great drinkability: the attack is fruity and round, the tannins are fine and silky, and the Clairette brings a fresh natural acidity well integrated that lightens the whole and extends the finish on notes of garrigue and soft spices. An authentic and lively wine, of immediate pleasure, that you uncork without ceremony but with joy.

The domaine

Elisabeth, Marie-Laurence, Louis and Annick Saladin head Domaine Saladin, a family property passed down from father to son and daughter since 1422. The domaine's 18 hectares and 13 Rhône varieties offer the particularity of having always been hand-harvested, cultivated and vinified organically. The twenty-first generation of vignerons on these lands, the Saladins embody the ideal of the complete family domaine, from vine to glass, with no concession to ease or viticultural fashion. Indigenous yeasts sign the wines and allow the identity of each terroir to express itself.

Food and wine pairings

This Côtes du Rhône Paul will pair beautifully with a grilled lamb chop with garrigue herbs, an Ardèche sausage with chestnuts, chicken roasted with black olives and Mediterranean herbs, lamb tagine with prunes, wood-fired pizza or a plate of mature cheeses such as an Ardèche Pélardon or Picodon. Served lightly cool between 14 and 16°C, it will reveal all the generous fruitiness and natural freshness of an authentic vigneron's wine, signed by six centuries of Ardèche passion.