It feels like Domaine Saladin is doing everything right. Because it is not enough to make good wine, you must also be able to sell it. As soon as you see Saladin’s minimalist labels, you are curious. Half the battle is won. The next half is won when you drink the wines. There is unusual elegance and finesse here.
Domaine Saladin is in the northern part of the southern Rhône valley, in the village of Saint Marcel d’Ardèche, about an hour’s drive north of Avignon. To get there, you go north from Avignon and pass Pont Saint Esprit and then turn off the D86 road on the small D201 road. You wiggle through the narrow roads of the Saint Marcel village and on the northern edge you find Domaine Saladin.
This is a longer version of an article published on Forbes.com.
The estate is run by two sisters, Elisabeth and Marie-Laurence Saladin, who have made a great success of making their estate famous and appreciated. The estate has ancient origins. As early as 1422, Raymond Saladin had a vineyard in the village. His contract to buy the plot called “Chaveyron” remains in the regional archive. “Chaveyron 1422” is now the name of one of their wines.
To give you a bit of perspective, in 1422 the Hundred Years’ War is raging in Europe and the city of Meaux (famous for the brie de meaux cheese) surrenders to the English, Henry VI becomes king of England aged nine months and is proclaimed king of France too at the death of Charles VI of France later in the year.
So, at Domaine Saladin there is a lot of accumulated knowledge about wine in the walls of the wine cellar. The sisters took over in 2004.
But success does not come easy. 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. Most travellers along the Rhône Valley barely ventures over on the west side. But as is often the case, you will be richly rewarded if you go off the beaten path.
From the beginning, the sisters were creative and modern thinking, a good strategy in today’s fierce competition. Already in 2010, when we visited them for the first time, they only used very little sulphur, and their wines could probably qualify as natural wine even then before it became fashionable. Using minimal additives, fermenting with wild yeast, and carefully monitoring the health of the vineyard have always been in focus. 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.
The estate is 18 hectares and is planted with 13 different grape varieties. The red grapes are grenache, some of them with considerable age, syrah, cinsault, carignan and mourvèdre. The white are grenache blanc and rose, clairette blanche et rose, bourbolenc, marsanne and roussanne.
The wines
All the wines we tasted are delicious and have that little something that makes you happy but which is not always so easy to put into words.
Red wines from Domaine Saladin
Paul 2021, Domaine Saladin, Côtes du Rhône
Very light in colour. But don’t be fooled. A fine nose of concentrated fruit, warm strawberries, ripe berries. The taste is intense and quite fresh, with low tannins. Here, it is the deliciously juicy refreshing fruit that is important. The wine is based on grenache which is supplemented with 10% clairette. Whole bunch fermentation. (21 euro, prices indicate are from the estate)
Loí 2020, Domaine Saladin, Côtes du Rhône
Light in colour. Typical Provençal herbs on the nose but also slightly darker berries such as blackberry. The wine has structure and great concentration; the taste is long and persistent. But still, light in style with a juicy fruit. There is also red fruit here (red currants). Aged nine months in steel tanks. The grapes are grenache, both noir and blanc, which is supplemented with a little syrah and carignan. Loí is the Provençal nickname for Louis, the two sisters’ father. (~18 euro)
Fan dé Lune 2020, Domaine Saladin, Côtes du Rhône Villages Saint Andéol
Powerful and delicious nose with lots of berries and fruit and some resin as well as medicinal herbs. It is full-bodied and complex but still very elegant in style, with some tannins and red currant. The grapes are mourvèdre with a small portion of grenache and syrah. The grape varieties are vinified separately. Mourvèdre is harvested late. Grenache ferments whole bunch, and syrah gets a long skin contact, about 35 days. The wine is aged for 9 months in large oak barrels, foudres. (23 euros)
Haut Brissan 2020, Domaine Saladin, Vin de France
Light in colour with a very inviting, aromatic, floral and fruity nose. The taste is intense and rich in aromas with elegant red berries and some dried herbs; it is light and elegant in style with a good acidity and warm climate character at the end. (33 euro)
Haut Brissan is located on the highest plateau in the village of Saint Marcel d’Ardèche. The stony and difficult-to-cultivate land was abandoned in favour of the plains along the banks of the Rhône. But the sisters’ grandfather and great-grandfather brought the neglected vineyard back to life. The wine is made from 100% old grenache vines.
White wine from Domaine Saladin
Per El 2022, Domaine Saladin, Côtes du Rhône Blanc
An aromatic fragrance with a slight smokiness and a floral character. Complex flavours and a pleasant mouthfeel. A classic white Rhône with flavours of fresh apricots and almonds (the family also has 4 hectares of almond trees, but of course, that has nothing to do with it). It is completely dry with a slight tannic astringency. (22 euro)
Rosé wine from Domaine Saladin
Tralala! Rosé, Domaine Saladin, Côtes du Rhône
Light “Provence colour” with fresh herbs, delightful red fruit, and some tannins that give structure. Delicious flavours. The grapes are cinsault and grenache. They ferment slowly at a cool temperature. (18 euro)
