Lucien Le Moine Inopia Rouge Clos Saouma - Red Rhône

The name 'Inopia' is taken from Latin and means 'lack' or 'made from nothing', and is intended to symbolize that the 9 hectares of land from which the wine comes were originally empty and uncultivated when Rotem and Mounir took over them.

Today they are planted with 11 of the classic grape varieties in the Rhône appellation. Grenache dominates (70%), but the wine is also made with Mourvèdre, Counoise, Syrah and Cinsault.

The subsoil consists of rock deposits mixed with clay and sand, a classic mix in the Orange commune, which also supplies Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines. This provides good water reserves in depth and ensures wines with a good crispness and minerality.

Clos Saouma decided from the start not to add any kind of fertilizer in order to reduce the yield and produce more concentrated wines. In both 2013 (first vintage) and 2014, they harvested approximately 2,000 l./ha. compared to the normal 5,000 l./ha.

The grapes are hand-picked and transported to the cellar in small containers. The whole bunches are transferred to tanks and undergo a cold maceration for 8 days before stopping the cooling and allowing the alcoholic fermentation to start naturally, without the addition of yeast. After about 10 days of fermentation without any stirring, the skins are gently pressed in a vertical press. After pressing, the must with its 'lie' (sediment) is filled directly into a combination of large French wooden barrels (foudres, 2,300 and 3,400 l.), egg-shaped cement tanks (600 and 1,600 l.) and smaller wooden barrels (500 l.).

The wine then matures for 16-18 months without racking and is finally bottled without fining or filtering and without the use of sulfur.

The color is glossy, dark red and deep. The aroma is a bit closed upon opening, which is why pouring into a carafe and using large glasses is recommended.

The classic Rhône nuances slowly emerge: Cherries, blackberries, plums, but also spicy notes of licorice, tar and vanilla. The taste is extremely concentrated and mineral, with good dryness and tannin but also with very complex and intense fruit notes.

It is a very complex red Rhône that deserves a few years of maturation.