Domaine la Roubine

After spending a decade in Paris working as a fireman Eric Ughetto returned to the set of vineyards his father had farmed for the benefit of the local co-operative to begin a new life as a winemaker.

He has 12.5 hectares at his disposal, spread across four different appellations; Gigondas (5 hectares), Vacqueyras (5), Sablet (2) and Séguret (0.5). Across the domaine the vines average 45 years of age and the yields are naturally fairly low.  His plot in Gigondas is interesting as it's quite high up into the hill and slightly north facing. This allows Eric to harvest that little bit later which helps to achieve perfect phenolic ripeness, whilst still preserving a mouth-watering freshness. Indeed this freshness is something of a common theme throughout the range. All the wines have depth and power, particularly so the Gigondas. 

The Sablet, naturally, is lighter and combines that freshness with delicious crunchy fruit. This year we have also taken the Vacqueyras as it was delicious in 2009. The wines share an authenticity with their maker; the flavours and textures are forthright (like him) but their is a much deeper lurking complexity which sets them apart from the usual. Again, like the man who makes them.  PWS