Domaine de l'Oratoire Saint-Martin - Haut-Coustias rouge 2017 (Magnum)

Bettane & Desseauve

About the domain :

At the end of the 1980s, Frédéric and François Alary were among the rare winemakers who literally reinvented the Côtes-du-Rhône and its villages, bringing an exacting, sensitive and rigorous approach to production that was completely foreign to many of their colleagues. Over the following decades, they made their estate one of the most attractive and consistent ambassadors of Côtes-du-Rhône. With 25 hectares of biodynamic viticulture and an impressive heritage of old vines, they know how to make wines that combine fullness and pleasure. Always well-structured, but without harsh tannins, and expressing ripe fruit with precision, their red wines are only at their best after one to three years' cellaring, depending on the cuvée and the vintage. As for the white wines, they blossom around smooth, full-bodied textures with discreet minerality.

Robert Parker - Wine Advocate

About the wine:

This cuvée normally spends two years in foudre [...]. A blend of 60% Grenache and 20% Mourvèdre and Syrah, Haut Coustias 2017 appears a little more open than the Les Douyes parcel, but has similar notes of licorice, plums and black cherries. It is full-bodied, rich and velvety, with a long finish.

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About the wine:

A Syrah full of freshness, peppery and spicy, but without the wild definition of the maquis. On the palate, with a gourmet feel, it is both full and ample, pulpy and mellow.

About the domain :

Frédéric and François Alary, who arrived in 1984, took over the reins of this estate, which had belonged to the Alary family since the 17th century. Under the two brothers' colossal efforts, the domaine rose to the top, thanks to respectful agriculture and precise white and red wines from this beautiful Cairanne terroir. With no one to take up the torch, the domaine was sold in 2020 to the Abeille-Fabre family, owners of Château Mont-Redon in Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

James Suckling