Domaine Barge

The wiry Gilles Barge is President of the Côte Rôtie Growers` Syndicat as well as running his own 6-hectare domaine. The majority of his holdings are in the Côte Brune and he produces rich long-lived Côte Rôties. He has no truck with the current fashion for destalking and ferments with all the stems still intact. The wines are then aged in large wooden piéces and foudres and are bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Crucially his final blends usually include around 5% Viognier and this gives the wines elegance and finesse. These are marvellously perfumed Côte Rôties that require 5-6 years bottle age but will still continue to improve for up to 15 years.