![Rotem & Mounir Saouma Chateauneuf-du-Pape "Arioso" 2011 (Southern Rhone, France) - [JS 98] [WS 97] [AG 94] [RP 92]](http://artisan.wine/cdn/shop/products/saoumaCdParioso11-w-2_{width}x.jpg?v=1614115142)
Rotem & Mounir Saouma Chateauneuf-du-Pape "Arioso" 2011
(Southern Rhone, France) - [JS 98] [WS 97] [AG 94] [RP 92]
Regular price $260.00 Sale price $214.97 Save $45.03
6-PACK PRICE = $209.97 per item (add 6+ quantity to your basket)
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About the Winery:
Rotem and Mounir Saouma run a negociant firm in Beaune. The couple have lived in France since 1995. Mounir Saouma got his oenological education at the wine university in Montpellier in France. He went to Burgundy to be a winemaker at a negociant firm there and after discovering the way of winemaking here he found that he wanted to make wines in a different way and the couple established their own negociant company in 1999 with the name Lucien le Moine.
One thing is to buy wines and elevate them in a more or less personal manner. Quite another matter is to own the vineyards and have full control of the process from soil to wine.
Mounir Saouma has chosen the Chateauneuf du Pape appellation to try his capabilities to make wonders also from Grenache and other local grapes, quite different from Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.
After purchase of vineyards in Chateauneuf du Pape renting of some parcels Saouma's vineyards covers 4,5 ha of which 2 ha are situated at lieu-dit Pignan (close to Rayas) when the rest are small parcels at Les Gres, Cabrieres, Pied de Baut and Grandes Serres. The first vintage for the wines from Chateauneuf du Pape was 2009.
In 2012 Mounir Saouma bought a domain between Orange and Serignan-du-Comtat with a suitable cellar and 9 ha of Cotes du Rhone Village. The Chateauneuf du Pape wines and the Cotes du Rhone Village wines will be made here from the 2013 vintage.
Ratings & Reviews
98 Points - James Suckling:
"I tasted this and I thought of the great Rayas from the late 1980s. Full body, bright fruit and a creamy texture. Its purity of fruit is amazing with dark berry, spice, meat and dried flowers. The first vintage of this was 2009. Made from old vines planted in the 1940s. Aged three years in demi muid. Very low sulfur too. Drink or hold".
97 Points - Wine Spectator Magazine:
"Lightly mulled raspberry, bergamot, persimmon and black cherry fruit flavors are seamlessly stitched together, with hints of black tea, cinnamon and sous-bois filling in the background. Graceful overall, but with ample anise- and ganache-edged grip that is well-embedded through the finish. This should unfurl beautifully in the cellar. A thoroughly captivating wine. Best from 2017 through 2035. 315 cases made. JM (Nov 30, 2015)
94 Points - Antonio Galloni's Vinous Media:
"Saturated ruby. Intensely perfumed, exotic aromas of blackberry and cassis, potpourri, licorice, spicecake and cracked pepper. Sweet, incisive black and blue fruit and floral pastille flavors boast excellent depth and vivacity, with juicy acidity providing lift and focus. Supple tannins add shape and grip to the strikingly persistent finish, with the dark berry, licorice and floral notes echoing strongly." - Josh Raynolds (Apr 2015)
92 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
"Looking like a step up over the 2012, the 2011 Chateauneuf du Pape Arioso is 100% Grenache, all from the Pignan lieu-dit and vines planted in 1942, which will spend about 60 months in demi-muid prior to bottling. Despite this crazy long elevage, it stays fresh and lively, with a rich, rounded and creamy texture that carries loads of black cherry, black raspberry, spiced meat and crushed-flower-like aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied, ripe and yet also elegant, it will have 10-15 years of longevity." - Jeb Dunnuck (Oct 2014)
94 Points - Antonio Galloni's Vinous Media:
"Saturated ruby. Intensely perfumed, exotic aromas of blackberry and cassis, potpourri, licorice, spicecake and cracked pepper. Sweet, incisive black and blue fruit and floral pastille flavors boast excellent depth and vivacity, with juicy acidity providing lift and focus. Supple tannins add shape and grip to the strikingly persistent finish, with the dark berry, licorice and floral notes echoing strongly." - Josh Raynolds (Apr 2015)
92 Points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate:
"Looking like a step up over the 2012, the 2011 Chateauneuf du Pape Arioso is 100% Grenache, all from the Pignan lieu-dit and vines planted in 1942, which will spend about 60 months in demi-muid prior to bottling. Despite this crazy long elevage, it stays fresh and lively, with a rich, rounded and creamy texture that carries loads of black cherry, black raspberry, spiced meat and crushed-flower-like aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied, ripe and yet also elegant, it will have 10-15 years of longevity." - Jeb Dunnuck (Oct 2014)