The original Rhone site was empty and abandoned when Rotem and Mounir purchased it in 2011. The terroir features clay soil with many little river stones called "Grès," which provides a nice humidity for the dry south climate and adds mineral elements from the stone. To maximise the potential of the land, they decided to plant 11 varietals, with a high density of 4700 plants per hectare. The soil is very poor, and they decided not to bring any food to the roots, aiming for low yield and high quality, rather than quantity. The vineyard work is done entirely by hand, with minimal intervention and a lot of respect for nature.
They started with purchasing a 4.5 hectare plot in the lieu-dit Pignan in 2009 as they believe it’s the most elegant expression of Grenache from Chateauneuf du Pape. In addition to their home vineyard in Orange and the 4.5 hectares in Pignan they now own 8.4 hectares in Chateauneuf for red production across all five communes and 2.5 hectares of white Chateauneuf.
To understand the wines Clos Saouma is to understand their winemaking philosophy of their Burgundian wines. Mounir seems to so often be labelled a ‘modernist’ due to his long elevage technique, lack of sulphur use during elevage and no racking hence a lot of work with the lees. But In fact, as he says himself its “as traditional as it gets”. They employ the same techniques they use in Burgundy yet in the Rhone they manage every stage of the process, starting with the vineyards they own, all aspects of winemaking through to bottling.
Central to their philosophy was finding the perfect cellar environment, naturally cool and humid, mirroring the conditions of old Burgundian monasteries. This commitment to tradition extends to their winemaking approach, characterised by minimal intervention and a hands-off approach, long before the rise of the natural wine movement in case you're wondering.
In the cellar, during the pressing stage he allows pressings to rest on generous lees. To put in context it would be fair to say ‘most’ wineries use between 1 to 2 litres of gross lees, he wants at a minimum 5 to 7 litres of lees in each barrel. Like his burgundian label Lucien le Moine, Clos Saouma also embraces slow fermentation periods, closing cellars during spring to maintain low temperatures and humidity, allowing for prolonged fermentation and aging. This patient approach contributes to the wines' distinctive texture and complexity, with extended lees contact and minimal racking. This commitment to minimal intervention continues through bottling, where wines are neither fined nor filtered, and gravity is used for bottling. The result is wines that are vibrant, age-worthy, and best enjoyed after a double decantation to allow them to fully express their character.
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