Walls’ hidden gems: Domaine La Cabotte in Massif d’Uchaux

Côtes du Rhône Villages is well known for offering great value for money, not just for France but throughout the world. There is however a tactic you can employ to further maximise bang for buck if you’re in search of a bargain.

Firstly, select a top-performing ‘named village’. There are currently 21 of these villages that can append their name onto the Côtes du Rhône Villages label, but not all of these villages, or terroirs, are equal.

Scroll down for tasting notes and scores for Domaine La Cabotte wines

If you happened to read my article earlier this year on Côtes du Rhône Villages Massif d’Uchaux – a secluded, wooded hill of limestone and sandstone to the north of Châteauneuf-du-Pape – you’ll know that this is one of the most promising.

Secondly, choose one of the best producers within the appellation. You can be confident they’ll be producing cru-level wine, but with considerably lower prices. A good example of this is Domaine La Cabotte.

From Burgundy to the Rhône

Domaine La Cabotte is owned by Marie-Pierre Plumet d’Ardhuy and her husband Eric Plumet.

If the name d’Ardhuy sounds familiar, that’s because you might have encountered the wines of her father Gabriel’s estate, Domaine d’Ardhuy: 39ha of Côte de Beaune and Côte de Nuits.

A cabotte is a vineyard hut in which Burgundian vignerons store their tools.

Gabriel used to spend his summers in the Rhône. In the summer of 1981, he was cycling across the Massif d’Uchaux when he came across a ramshackle estate for sale.

Having wanted to own vineyards in the area for many years, he bought it immediately.

Gabriel invited Marie-Pierre, one of his seven daughters, to join him and renovate it. At the time, there were 10ha of vines along with olives and lavender plantations. She set to work replanting more vineyards, and today they have 32ha.

Biodynamics in action

She replanted five hectares of white varieties, but they produced wines that she often found to be heavy. When she converted the estate to biodynamics, ‘the whites were completely transformed, right from the first year,’ she says, showing more purity, minerality and acidity. The reds followed a similar course, albeit more slowly.

Marie-Pierre and Eric were joined by their son Etienne in 2016. He had previously worked at Domaine de Beaurenard in Châteauneuf-du-Pape, where he was in charge of its biodynamic preparations.

The family bought a small vineyard in Châteauneuf in 2005, followed by another parcel of old vines in 2015; today they own 1ha there. ‘It’s a lovely appellation, somewhat mythical… and a good shop window,’ she says, and it helps to attract people to the estate that don’t know Massif d’Uchaux.

She says that land in Châteauneuf costs over €500,000 per hectare, whereas land in Massif d’Uchaux costs €60,000-€80,000 per hectare.

But despite the discrepancy in land prices – and appellation prestige – I wouldn’t necessarily place their Châteauneuf above their Massif d’Uchaux. Both are excellent, just in different styles.

‘Châteauneuf is the land of Grenache, it brings power and alcohol,’ says Marie-Pierre. ‘I prefer finesse and freshness.’

You can tell where her heart is.

The range

The domaine makes two Massif d’Uchaux cuvées: Garance and Gabriel.

Garance is the main bottling, made of 50% Grenache, with the rest made of equal parts Syrah and Mourvèdre. It’s fermented and macerated for two to three weeks, then aged in concrete for 12 months.

Gabriel is a parcel selection, equal parts Grenache and Syrah. It’s fermented and aged in amphora for around 14 to 18 months.

Garance usually leads with red fruits, while Gabriel is darker in profile, a touch spicier and more concentrated. Both are wines of depth and finesse, and can age for 10 to 15 years in good vintages.

The pure Clairette La Sauvageonne will satisfy fans of the grape with all its soft, textural freshness. It too is grown on chalky Massif d’Uchaux terroir, but since it’s an appellation reserved for red wines only, this white is bottled under the Côtes du Rhône Villages appellation.

La Sauvageonne and Gabriel retail for around £20 a bottle in the UK. You can pick up Garance for £17 – and we’re talking about a refined, ageworthy, biodynamic wine produced by a family-owned estate.

Great news for wine lovers like us. Less brilliant for the producers, who aren’t able to charge cru-level prices. The administrative cogs of the French appellation authorities are notoriously unhurried, but surely Massif d’Uchaux will eventually join the ranks of the other southern Rhône crus.

In the meantime, this is a great example of the value you can find in the Villages if you know where to look.

Walls’ reviews of Domaine La Cabotte wines:

Related articles

• Walls: Exploring Côtes du Rhône Villages Séguret
• Laudun becomes the 18th cru of the Rhône Valley
• Walls: A tale of two Gallets