Herve Souhaut Clos des Cessieux Saint Joseph 2023 Rhone Valley《ZTF353》

Herve Souhaut Clos des Cessieux Saint Joseph 2023 Rhone Valley《ZTF353》

This time, we'd like to recommend Herve Souhaut, a remarkably low-profile yet highly regarded winemaker in Northern Rhône, France.

For over thirty years, Herve Souhaut and his wife Beatrice have managed their family winery and vineyards in Northern Rhône, developing it from 1993 to become one of the region's premier wineries. Herve blends organic and biodynamic techniques, and the winery owns Syrah vines aged 50 to 100 years. He previously apprenticed in Burgundy, also studying with friends Marcel Lapierre and Philippe Pacalet, and even worked at the Hermitage appellation's Master of Natural Wines, Dard & Ribo. This winery is currently extremely popular in Japan, to the point where bottles are hard to find. The old Syrah vines are planted in schist granite soils. Due to the high altitude and steep terrain of the appellation, it has become a breeding ground for some of the world's finest Syrah, producing wines rich in acidity, complex layers, and elegant style!

The winery covers only 8.5 hectares, planted entirely with vines aged 50-100 years. This sub-region, Sainte Epine IGP, previously unknown to outsiders, is located on the right bank of the Rhône River, facing the Hermitage Mountains. It's a 30-minute drive from Saint Joseph, facing southeast and south. In the hot microclimate of the Rhône delta, the weather is dry with little rainfall. The local soil, largely composed of shale, has excellent drainage, which is beneficial for vineyard management.

As Mrs. Beatrice, the owner, says, "Natural wine isn't about letting the vines die naturally; on the contrary, you spend more time on a single vine than on a vineyard for other commercial wines. To manage the vineyard well, I hardly have time for anything else!" All this hard work is for the precious 25,000 bottles of fine wine produced each year!