Domaine Saladin

There is unusual elegance and finesse in the wines from Domaine Saladin. The two sisters, Elisabeth and Marie-Laurence Saladin runs this wine estate today but it traces its roots back to 1422. The oldest written trace is from that year when Raymond Saladin bought land here. In that year the Hundred Years War was raging in Europe and Henry VI became king of England.

Domaine Saladin is located on the west side of the Rhône River (or rive droite, the right bank, as the French say). Most of the famous southern Rhône wines (Châteauneuf, Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Rasteau, etc.) are made on the eastern side of the river. But as is often the case, you will be richly rewarded if you go off the beaten path.

The sisters have always been forward-thinking. They only used very little sulphur since 2010, and their wines could probably qualify as natural wine even then before it became fashionable. The estate has been organically certified since 2006.

The wines have a style that is, on the one hand, typical of the southern Rhône with Provencal herbs and rich fruit, but on the other hand, is much more elegant, juicy, and fine-tuned than what you usually find here.

This is certainly top-level southern Rhône wines worth seeking out.