2014 Domaine Saint Damien Plan de Dieu- Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages "Vieilles Vignes" 750 ml

Rhône Au Naturel: Sun-Streaked, Mistral-Cooled

At a blind tasting in a West Village boîte this past spring, 10 out of 15 tasters ventured to guess this wine as being a Châteauneuf-du-Pape or Gigondas. Marvelously dense, robust, with a telltale whiff of garrigue, rippling with sweet spice and ripe black fruit, it was all but textbook. Imagine their surprise when it was revealed to be Côtes-du-Rhône Villages wine, from the somewhat obscure appellation of Plan de Dieu (God’s Plain). We’ve since nicknamed this wine “Rocky” — while hailing from a relatively humble (and rock-strewn) area, once in the ring it punches with the best of them.

After the producer was revealed, it was really no surprise at all that this wine was mistaken for coming from one of Southern Rhône’s most elite AOCs. It’s produced by Domaine Saint-Damien, a winery that Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate has lavished with praise like, for a recent vintage: “They represent incredible values and readers need to get on this estate’s bandwagon!” Saint-Damien’s Joël Saurel is best known for his Gigondas wine, which Parker has named among the top three in the appellation, but his Côtes-du-Rhône Villages wines are equally remarkable, while offering — especially in 2014 — some of the most stunning values in all of France.

In the dead center of Southern Rhône, between Châteauneuf-du-Pape and Gigondas, Plan de Dieu is particularly hot, allowing the Grenache and Mourvèdre to ripen magnificently, making for wines richer and more complex than standard Côtes-du-Rhônes. The soil — red clay and small stones and pebbles — is unforgiving, making for low yields and mouth-filling concentration. The oppressive summer heat is relieved only by the ferocious Mistral wind, slicing cold and sharp down the Rhône River. This wine captures some of the wildness of these harsh natural conditions, leavened by the sophistication of gnarled vines up to 60 years old.

A truly extraordinary under-$18 Rhône bargain, charged with a power and energy you’d expect at double or triple the price. Count us as very proud of this find.