Rasteau, Domaine la Soumade 2022

This Grenache dominated Rasteau is a wine that delivers in leaps and bounds. The vines are only treated with natural fertiliser when absolutely necessary and the grapes are hand picked and hand sorted so only the best make it through. The wine matures in concrete for a year and then in a range of oak barrels for six months before being lightly filtered. The nose is intoxicating with perfumed aromas of sweet red and brambly fruits leading onto a full, rich, silky palate with hints of menthol and a nice spicy kick. There is a lovely freshness to the wine, a superb balance and lengthy finish.

Try with chicken dishes or will work well with light to mild spiced curries.

Domaine La Soumade's André Roméro is a great winemaker (described as the superstar of Rasteau by wine critic Robert Parker) and if you add the expertise of renowned consultant Stéphane Derenoncourt and some top-quality vineyard sites and you have a recipe for success. André, who founded the estate in 1979, was joined by his son Frédéric in 1996. A few years later the completion of their new winery coincided with them starting to work with Stéphane Derenoncourt and that was the point at which their wines took a step up in quality and become truer expressions of their terroir. Today the estate covers 26 hectares, including a small plot of the finest land in Rasteau and other parcels in neighbouring Gigondas. With André approaching retirement the estate is now mainly run by the capable hands of Frédéric who seems set to continue with the high standards that has won them so many admirers.