The Inopia Côtes du Rhône Villages Blanc from Clos Saouma is a wine with credentials. It strikes an unmatched balance between the finesse of Burgundy and the distinctiveness of Rhône wines. And it hasn’t only caught our eye, but also that of major wine critics, who award it impressively high scores year after year! So, it’s best you try it while you still can!

In 1999, Rotem and Mounir Saouma, a winemaking couple, created Lucien Le Moine in the heart of Burgundy, a very small and extremely selective négociant. There, they bought freshly fermented wines from local producers, refined them, bottled them, and sold them. The project quickly gained worldwide recognition, especially following some outstanding bottlings of 1er and Grand Cru wines. This marked the beginning of a career path that many would envy today.

In 2009, they decided to turn their attention to viticulture and relocated to the Rhône Valley. Through auctions, they began acquiring parcels of land in the Châteauneuf area that very few were interested in, founding Clos Saouma.

Today, they cultivate 15 hectares of vineyards, most of which are estate-owned. Their true distinction, however, lies in the fact that they produce mostly white wines (40%), in a region renowned for its reds. And they rival them with confidence!

Inopia Côtes du Rhône Villages Blanc 2022 is a blend of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne, and Viognier, sourced from the Orange region. The whole grape clusters are gently pressed, followed by natural fermentation. The precious juice is then aged for 18 months in concrete eggs and 500-liter barrels, which had previously been used for the Magis Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc the year before! The wine is bottled unfiltered, resulting in a powerful expression of uniquely high-quality terroir, and it’s consistently in high demand.

P.S. 1: Orange is one of the five villages that produce Châteauneuf-du-Pape!
P.S. 2: Inopia in Latin means “starting from nothing,” referring to the state of the vineyard before it came into Rotem and Mounir’s hands!

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