2019 Domaine Oratoire Saint Martin, Cairanne AOC, Réserve des Seigneurs, Rhône Valley, France.
The Domaine Oratoire Saint Martin Cairanne Réserve des Seigneurs is a deeply purple and plush Rhône red wine made from 40% Grenache Noir, 30% Mourvèdre, 20% Syrah, 5% Carignan and 5% Counoise, which is more Châteauneuf-du-Pape like than most of the wines from this appellation that might be more Grenache. There’s a lot to love about this 2019 vintage with its smooth tannins and rich palate, it is a lot of wine for the money and I really enjoyed the layering of fruit, which sees boysenberry, black plum, currant and dark cherry in a dense unfolding on the palate with hints of violets, peppercorns, warm stones, anise, sage and lingering creme de cassis. The only fault I could really say, is that is so easy to love, you find just want a touch more savory edgy elements to perk things up, but certainly this wine holds its own against pricier Rhône offerings and is a crowd pleaser. Domaine Oratoire Saint-Martin covers 25 hectares located in the village of Cairanne only, making a savvy range of wines from this single terroir, I highly recommend those interested in Cairanne to chase down some of this bottling, which is made almost exclusively for the US market, making easy to find.
The Cairanne terroir, once just a Côtes du Rhône Village, is quite diverse and the Oratoire Saint Martin vineyard is located in the regions heart, which is in the Southern part of the Rhône Valley, whose soils are a combination of rocky, with some round Galet stones, clayish and or calcareous soils with limestone. This cuvée comes from the estate’s old vines located on the middle and lower hillsides and farmed organically and using biodynamic methods and cycles, which promotes healthy ecosystems and better quality fruit. The winery says they employ manual sorting of grapes in the vineyard and then again in the cellar. Most all the fruit is de-stemmed without any grape crushing, keeping whole berries intact, except for the Carignan which is all whole-cluster fermented, and vinification lasts for 2 to 3 weeks for slow and controlled extraction. They use wild yeasts and elevage lasts 9 to 12 months in stainless and concrete vats, with bottling done without fining or filtering, to allow to authentic transparency, as seen here. Importer, Frederick Wildman says the estate’s history and unwavering commitment to the land motivates and inspires the family to make wines that are faithful to their origins and roots, which you can see in these current offerings.
($28 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive