Domaine Sainte Anne, St.Gervais, Gard Provençal
Domaine Sainte Anne is one of the best kept secrets in the Southern Côtes du Rhône. A medium sized producer, their wines are hard to get in wine stores. They are located in the hamlet of Les Celettes, 3km north of the small village of St.Gervais north of Bagnols on the right bank of the Rhône. By the way, the origin of the term "Côte du Rhône" goes back to the 17th century and applied only to the wine growing region around Uzès and Bagnols on the right bank of the Rhône. In 1650 the first regulations were introduced in France to guarantee origin and quality and by 1737 all the wine casks from this region had to be labeled with "C.D.R.". In the middle of the 19th century the wine growing regions on the left bank of the Rhône were added to this label and the Côte du Rhône became Côtes du Rhône.
The domaine belongs to the Steinmaier family, immigrants from Vienna, who settled in the Bourgogne in the 1930s and established a vineyard in Chalon-sur-Saône. In 1965 Guy Steinmaier purchased a 13ha vineyard on the hills above St.Gervais. A further 10ha were acquired in 1973 together with a number of rather modest 16th century stone buildings and cellars. In the 80s Guy gradually handed over the business to his sons Jean and Alain. The family's wine making strategy is and always has been to go for top quality without changing the style. The wines have a purity and balance that expresses the richness of the terroir and old root stock. They produce Côtes du Rhône Villages made from Grenache (around 60%), Syrah and Mourvèdre (40%) with the Cuvée Notre Dame des Celettes as their leading wine made from the oldest stock. The Cuvée Saint Gervais is 50-60% Mourvèdre and equal parts Syrah and Grenache (40 - 50%). There is also a 100% Syrah Côtes du Rhône aged in oak and a 100% Viognier Côtes du Rhône. Their Côtes du Rhône Villages retail in the Euro 20 - 35 range.
2001 Domaine Sainte Anne Côtes du Rhône Village St.Gervais: Intense deep red color, an earthy bouquet with a hint of garrigue, capturing the herbaceous character of the terroir. A palate of superb weight and depth of fruit flavor makes this a wine of remarkable intensity and style. Ages very well, drink 2007 - 2010.
2003 Domaine Sainte Anne Côtes du Rhône Village St.Gervais: Deep red color and bouquet of ripe red berries. An excellently balanced palate with depth of fruit flavor flows through to a long finish. Will age well, drink best 2008 - 12.
Opening a bottle of the 2001 Côtes du Rhône Village many weeks later at home, we found it extremely satisfying to drink in front of the fireplace with the cold Mistral howling above the roofs of Avignon outside. Never mind all the A.O.C. denominations, wine writers' verdicts and ratings - this wine is proof that you just need to know the right vigneron.
Domaine Sainte Anne, Les Cellettes, 30200 St.Gervais, Tel: 04 66 82 77 41
Caveau is open weekdays from 9:00-11:00 AM and 2:00-6:00PM - just ring the bell
Eve Collins said:
Dear Cheryl,
I think the best way is to contact Domaine Sainte Anne directly. You find their address on this post. I am an independent wine blogger - no commercial connections, unlike some of my colleagues. Hope you continue reading my blog.
Best regards
Eve
Cheryl McConville said:
We are a wine importer/distributor in Seattle and have a few accounts asking us if we could find your wines for distribution. Do you currently have distribution in the Seattle area? If not, we would be very interested in distributing your wines.
Thank you,
Cheryl
Pacific Rim Wines, LLC
posted on 2007-03-23 at 4:00 am