Rasteau, Esprit d'Argiles, Domaine La Collière 2022 En Primeur - Case of 6

Unlike many in the region, Georges Perrot was not born and bred into a wine family, but rather a passion for gardening came from his maternal grandmother. Upon meeting his now wife, Delphine, Georges began to work on her family vineyards and in 2002 the first vintage of Domaine La Collière was produced in André & Frédéric Romero’s (Domaine La Soumade) old cellars.

He now has 30 hectares of vines spread across many parcels of land throughout the village, mainly on blue and yellow clay soils which help retain the water in this often arid land. The philosophy is very much to respect the land and all grapes are hand-picked. A new winery was completed in 2018 and boasts bespoke Italian made concrete tanks along with the more traditional stainless steel and oak barrels. The latest addition is a couple of small egg-shaped concrete tanks. He makes pure, elegant wines with juicy red and black fruit, both Côtes du Rhône and village Rasteau, and a small quantity of a stand-out Côtes du Rhône Blanc. “Oak is not my style,” he says, and we love the vibrant fruit characters he gets in his wines, which are very elegant and almost Burgundian. Wine journalists from both sides of the Atlantic are beginning to sit up and take notice.