Description

Louis Barruol is an indefatigable force in the Rhone. He is the fourteenth generation in his family to be making wine in this sixteenth-century domaine in Gigondas. On what was once the site of a Roman villa, Louis’ cellars show spectacular remains of old, Roman vinification vats carved into the limestone. Here, Louis works with different grape varietals from the Rhone, vinifying each parcel separately. He has recently taken to acting as a micro-negociant, working closely with top growers in the northern part of the region who still work with Serine, an ancient version of Syrah. Producing only a few precious barrels of each cuvee, Louis is helping to save the authenticity and the identity of many great old Cote Rotie parcels, and now those of Hermitage and Crozes, by keeping them out of the hands of the large, corporate negociants in the area.