Walls’ hidden gems: Domaine Garon, Côte-Rôtie

Warhol. Turner. Dali. If I showed you some of their most famous works, could you identify the artist? Even for those who rarely visit art galleries, I suspect the answer would be yes.

Wine, however, is different. Could you reliably name great winemakers just by tasting their wines? Not impossible; but even for the most dedicated wine lover, not always easy.

Sure, there are some winemakers with a style that’s so distinctive that their wines are unmistakable. In this group, I’d include the wines of Emmanuel Reynaud of Château Rayas, Chateau Musar or Jacques Selosse.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for 10 Domaine Garon wines

But at the other end of the scale, some winemakers somehow remove all trace of themselves from their wines. It’s as if the wine made itself. You taste the place; the hand of the maker is invisible.

In this second camp I would put Domaine Garon, who I visited in January this year.

Lonely flakes of snow fell as Kévin Garon and I scaled the steep steps built into the drystone walls that support the vineyards behind the winery. He’s tall, with a close, dark beard, and wears a plain black padded jacket. He’s friendly but discreet, quietly self-assured.

Domaine Garon: origins

His family traces its winemaking roots back to 1475, to a Jean Garon who made wine here. But the recent history of Domaine Garon is more closely tied to Kévin’s father, Jean-François. He bottled his first vintage in 1995, after clearing and replanting the family’s overgrown vineyards in his spare time.

Kévin joined him in 2000, then Kévin’s brother Fabien. At that point they had just 2ha of Côte-Rôtie. Now they have 8ha.

The majority of their holdings surround the property at the southern edge of Ampuis: lieux-dits Le Mollard, Le Combard, Lancement, La Triote and Le Goutay. All adjacent, all blonde side. They have a little Rochains too, on the brune side.

All of Domaine Garon’s Côte-Rôties are pure Syrah. ‘They naturally develop fine and floral aromas without having to use Viognier,’ says Kévin. It’s a growing trend here. ‘People are moving towards a more Burgundian model, with a single grape variety.’

‘Organics is not as binary as it’s sometimes portrayed’

Some of their parcels are so steep they have just three rows of vines before another raised terrace is required. Tractors can’t reach these vines, so it’s no wonder so many Côte-Rôtie producers resort to herbicides. But not here. Domaine Garon stopped using herbicides several years ago. Their yields dipped, so they had to put their prices up. But their customers stayed loyal.

The estate isn’t certified organic because they use some chemical products to control mildew. Kévin believes this method is less toxic for the soil than using copper, the go-to treatment among organic producers. Organics is not as binary as it’s sometimes portrayed. If anyone has doubts, ‘people can come in the vineyards and see our work,’ he says.

They also make some Condrieu, St-Joseph, and Côtes-du-Rhône, purchasing some fruit to supplement their own vineyards. Their Condrieu is mostly bought grapes, but they pick the grapes themselves on the day of their choosing. This way they can access ‘parcels that we just couldn’t buy today.’

The latest planting was 2ha of Syrah in 2012 and 2013, over the river in Seyssuel. ‘There’s nothing more exciting than planting a new terroir,’ he says. The vines are young, but the results are already impressive.

The quality across the board has been gradually increasing over the past few years, which is what prompted my visit. Their 2021s are surprisingly strong for such a challenging year. Though their style is their own, if forced to compare I’d place them somewhere between Ogier, Barge and Jasmin.

Use of both barrels and stems is measured, gradually increasing through the range. The St-Joseph has 10% whole bunch and 10% new oak; this increases to 25% and 30% for the Rochains cuvée.

The wines, when tasted, speak first and foremost of their origins – not the hand that made them. The confident but understated approach means this domaine isn’t yet as well-known as some of the starrier names of Côte-Rôtie. But with quality like this, it’s only a matter of time.

10 top picks from Domaine Garon:

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