Clos Saouma Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc Magis 2023 750ml

From Rotem and Mounir Saouma, the Châteauneuf-du-Pape estate of the husband and wife team behind the celebrated Burgundy négociant house Lucien Le Moine. Mounir, originally from Lebanon, and Rotem began acquiring vineyards in Châteauneuf in 2009, starting with a parcel in Pignan and now farming around 21 acres across nine vineyards in all five communes of the appellation. The wines are sometimes labelled Clos Saouma in select markets.

Magis is the white Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Latin for 'more', drawn historically from the heavily limestone Pierredon vineyard in Bedarrides with additional fruit now coming from plots in Courthezon. Aged for 18 to 24 months on its lees, the wine shows a Burgundian sense of depth and minerality unusual for the appellation: yellow apple, white peach, beeswax, candied citrus and dried herbs over a piercing, stony palate.

Vineyards are farmed organically and worked entirely by hand. In the cellar, Mounir favours an extremely long élevage, much like his Burgundies: small presses, no punching down, no racking and no filtration, with sulfur added minimally and only late. Wines age for between 24 and 36 months in a mix of barrels, foudres, concrete and amphorae.

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