Once upon a time, there was a couple of winemakers who, in the late 1990s, started a business in Burgundy. They bought freshly fermented wines from local producers, improved them, bottled them, and sold them. Gradually, their reputation spread beyond borders, and their project, named “Lucien Le Moine,” was established.
Being restless spirits, they decided in 2006 to change direction and focus on vineyard cultivation. They left Burgundy for the Rhône Valley and, through auction, began buying land that no one else wanted.
One such vineyard was Pignan, from which the Rotem & Mounir Saouma Châteauneuf-du-Pape Magis Blanc 2021 comes, and of which Mounir himself would say: "Nobody wanted it because it was in a bad state, but come on! It was Place Vendôme, the day after a Sunday market. OK, it's dirty everywhere, but it's still Place Vendôme."
The Rotem & Mounir Saouma Châteauneuf-du-Pape Magis Blanc 2021 is a blend of Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Roussanne, and Bourboulenc, which ages for 18-24 months in French oak barrels. Pignan is now considered the king of Châteauneuf, offering a terroir of unique quality, and their wines are snapped up as soon as they are released. In the end, they lived happily, and we lived even better!
