Description
Domaine Rostaing, “Le Vassal”
Any respectable Michelin wine list: Rostaing. Any elite wine bar: Rostaing. Any conversation surrounding the world’s finest Syrahs: Rostaing. Even when it comes to our past Côte-Rôtie offers, no matter the producer, you’ll find us referencing Rostaing, Rostaing, Rostaing time and again. So why haven’t we featured their wines? Until now, they’ve largely been out of our reach—due to a perfect storm of closely guarded allocations and soaring demand—but rest assured, we’re now positioned to place them into our blue-chip rotation.
The idolization of René Rostaing’s wines begins in the 1990s with the inheritance of truly impeccable, cult-status raw material from Marius Gentaz and Albert Dervieux (only the most avid collectors have stumbled upon old cuvées from Gentaz-Dervieux; vintages like ’91 are about as expensive, cherished, and unicorn-rare as Syrah comes). As you can imagine, René had an immense torch to bear when these prized vines were passed down to him three decades ago. In that time, Domaine Rostaing has risen to an immortalized state of prominence and perfection. And while we certainly have plans to offer their gorgeous, infinitely cellar-worthy Côte-Rôties, I thought what better way to introduce the legend of Rostaing than by featuring their powerful, perfumed, and deceptively affordable “Vassal” from a special limestone vineyard down in France’s Languedoc? It may not be their coveted Côte-Rôtie, but it’s still Syrah paradise for $32!
I cannot in good faith send out an introductory Rostaing offer without ensuring its backstory is properly told. This is not the tale of some antagonistic upstart but of a lone, hard-working man called René Rostaing, who, in 1971, began farming the steep terraces of Côte-Rôtie on a garden-sized scale. Because he could not afford to quit his day job, René would race to his “second home” after work and devote most of his weekend hours to tending vine. During this nascent stage, he was also quietly learning how to produce the most classical, soulfully traditional styles of Syrah under the tutelage of his uncle Marius Gentaz, among the most beloved cult figures in Côte-Rôtie’s rich history.
After many years of patient, methodical learning and piecemeal vineyard expansion, Rostaing married, and his new father-in-law became one Albert Dervieux, yet another legend on this roasted slope. Shortly after, every star in the vinous firmament seemed to align when Dervieux retired and bequeathed to René his treasured parcels of old-vine Syrah. The windfall continued with Gentaz’s retirement a few years later, which brought Rostaing a second inheritance of coveted raw material. The result is best summarized by The Rare Wine Co., Domaine Rostaing’s iconic, longtime importer: “this treasury of vineyards launched René’s estate into the stratosphere.” Given their current exclusivity, endless wine-list placements, soaring prices, and unrivaled cellar appeal…indeed it did!
But today, we’re not offering one of Rostaing’s darling Côte-Rôtie collectibles. Instead, we’re heading down and out of the Rhône Valley, 30 miles southwest of Châteauneuf-du-Pape and just 20 from the Mediterranean coast. We’re in the Coteaux du Languedoc, where René and his wife acquired and revived a small property in the late 1990s. The purpose here was to express Syrah through a limestone soil lens, all while maintaining René’s meticulous farming and classical winemaking. Furthermore, their vines are perched 500 feet higher than Châteauneuf, so while these wines tend to exhibit more concentrated power, they are always accompanied by freshness and lift.
I should note that after nearly a half-century of farming and winemaking, René handed the operations down to his son Pierre in 2015, who’d spent the majority of his adult life studying alongside his father. These newer releases have been superbly radiant, expressive, powerful, and loaded with finesse. Absolutely nothing has been sacrificed.
Domaine Rostaing’s “Le Vassal,” soured entirely from their Puech Noble estate in Languedoc, is largely based on Syrah with small splashes of Mourvèdre and Grenache. Some of the grapes ferment on their stems—as the Rostaings maintain it boosts perfume and texture—and maturation occurs in a mixture of mostly used French barrels and larger demi-muids. This majestic 2020 fills a Bordeaux stem with a deep and vibrant dark purple before quickly directing your senses to its intoxicating nose: charred violets, candied rose, licorice, cracked pepper, smoked garrigue, cacao, black raspberry, kirsch, spiced plum, hot stone. The palate is full-bodied, not unlike a young Hermitage but more primary and fruit-forward, all while gliding across with such grace and freshness. It’s a tremendous $32 experience from one of the world’s most iconic and masterful growers of traditional Syrah. Enjoy your bottle over two evenings and cellar your others over the next 5+ years. Cheers!
