Domaine La Florane Je Ne Souffre Plus Côtes-du-Rhône-Villages 2021

Domaine la Florane is a biodynamic wine producer crafting wines in the southern Rhône Valley in the appellations of Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Visan and Côtes-du-Rhône Villages Saint-Maurice.

Domaine la Florane represented the wines made from vines in Visan, on land handed down by the family of Marie-Pierre Fabre.

The vines in Saint-Maurice, meanwhile, bore the name of Domaine de l’Échevin. Guillaume de Rouville, a family ancestor who was mayor of Lyon in 1586, owned land in the Rhône Valley, back when silk ruled supreme. He inspired the name Domaine de l’Échevin, created by François Fabre in the 1990s.

In 2001, the family’s two estates began using the same, specially-built vat room / cellar, but each estate kept its name. Then in 2019, they were united at last.

The cuvée names are unchanged: Échevin and Guillaume de Rouville are still used for the wines from the Saint-Maurice appellation. 

Three generations of vignerons, two terroirs, but the same family spirit. And a shared philosophy that now underpins a single identity.

Building on the Fabre de Rouville winemaking experience handed down through generations in the family, François Fabre acquired Domaine la Florane in 1982. From then on, he worked his vineyard with passion and fervour to give the wine its full character. and rich.

The domain, 35 hectares in one piece, including 14 hectares of wood, extends on the side of a valley facing south, nicknamed Coste Chaud in its Provençal patois.

In 2001, his son Adrien joined him on the family estate and both decided to make their dream come true; vinify and produce their own cuvée, a reflection of their heart and their passion.

They build a cellar on 3 levels, in total harmony with the environment for the greatest respect of the grapes and the wine.

Today they work hand in hand to lead their vineyard with passion and produce wines that reflect their image, generous, accessible, imbued with finesse and complexity. 

In addition to cultivating wine grapes and producing wine, they grow olive trees and lavender.   

All the wines from the estate are farmed organically and adhere to using biodynamic methods.

The destemmed grapes undergo short vatting at low temperature, just as they should be. Then, five months in concrete vats on the lees.

Deeply pigmented with an explosion of red and black berry fruits on the nose and palate. It’s super fresh and wonderfully concentrated, like biting into a bunch of freshly picked ripe grapes.  

90 JAMES SUCKLING