France · Rhône Septentrional

Rotem & Mounir Saouma

A Rhône project begun in 2009 by Rotem and Mounir Saouma, making long-aged reds and whites through foudres, barrels and cement eggs.

The producer

Lebanese winemakers Rotem and Mounir Saouma settled in Burgundy in the late 1990s, where their separate négociant business is Lucien Le Moine. Their Rhône project began in 2009 with a five-acre Pignan parcel, and its range now runs from Côtes du Rhône Villages Inopia to Châteauneuf-du-Pape Magis.

Long lees ageing and a mixed cellar of foudres, large barrels and cement eggs shape the wines. Inopia Rouge combines Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre with transparent red fruit and a silky texture; Inopia Blanc brings citrus, white peach, floral notes, fresh acidity and saltiness. Magis takes Rhône-white fruit toward melon, yellow plum, brine and a smoky mineral finish.

Known for

Long lees-aged Rhône reds and whites, especially Inopia and the Châteauneuf-du-Pape white Magis.

Notable facts

The story

The Pignan Beginning

The Rhône estate began with a French state sale. In 2009, Rotem and Mounir Saouma acquired a five-acre parcel in Pignan that was somewhat neglected and lay beside the Pignan lieu-dit and Rayas’ Bois de Rayas. There was not yet an established Saouma cellar in the Rhône for the first harvest. When the fruit came in, the couple vinified it at the Famille Perrin winery. The first stage of the estate was therefore a small Pignan holding and wines made in another family’s facilities while the Rhône project was taking shape.

From the atlas

Rotem & Mounir Saouma

At A Glance

The Producer

Rotem & Mounir Saouma is the Rhône work of Mounir and Rotem Saouma, Lebanese winemakers who settled in Burgundy in the late 1990s. Their Burgundy négociant business, Lucien Le Moine, remains separate; this Rhône estate began in 2009. From an Orange address, they make Côtes du Rhône Villages and Châteauneuf-du-Pape wines whose long lees ageing and mixed cellar vessels bring weight and texture to both red and white bottles.

Place

The project began in Pignan and now reaches across the five Châteauneuf-du-Pape communes of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Bédarrides, Sorgues, Courthézon and Orange. Vintus reports 21 acres across eight vineyards. That spread places the wines in two useful denominations: Côtes du Rhône Villages for the Inopia wines, and Châteauneuf-du-Pape for Magis. The labels therefore mark more than a price step: Inopia is the broader Rhône expression, while Magis draws from named Châteauneuf-du-Pape ground.

Soil And Site

Pignan was the first physical foothold: a somewhat neglected five-acre parcel beside the Pignan lieu-dit and Rayas’ Bois de Rayas. Work there includes improved drainage and organic manures, with low yields accepted rather than corrected by pushing the vines harder. For Magis, the Pierredon vineyard in Bédarrides is limestone-heavy, with additional plantings in Courthézon; those sites supply the material for a white with salt, brine and a smoky mineral finish.

Story

After building Lucien Le Moine in Burgundy, the Saoumas turned south to the Rhône in 2009. They did not begin with an established cellar and a complete estate: the first Rhône wines were vinified at the Famille Perrin winery. The resulting project kept a practical link between acquisition and bottle, growing from Pignan into a range that moves from Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre in Inopia Rouge to Rhône-white blends aged for a long time on lees.

Vineyards And Cellar

Drainage, organic manure and low yields shape the fruit before it reaches the cellar. There, barrels, large foudres, cement vessels and cement eggs are used side by side. The wines are not punched down or racked during ageing, and a light sulfur addition comes shortly before bottling. Less handling leaves the wine on its lees, which can build texture and weight without removing the fruit’s red-fruit perfume or the whites’ fresh acidity.

The white wines receive extended full-lees ageing, with stirring and without fining or filtration. Inopia Blanc is whole-cluster pressed and fermented in 500-litre barrels and 1,600-litre cement eggs; Magis is whole-bunch pressed into 500-litre barrels and also remains on full lees without racking. Those vessel choices explain why citrus and stone fruit arrive with broad body and a saline finish rather than a simple, fleeting fruit profile.

Wines

Inopia Rouge 2023 is the red starting point: Grenache, Syrah and Mourvèdre aged for 18 months with lees in large French-oak foudres, cement eggs and 500-litre barrels. It is bottled without fining or filtration. The blend carries red fruit and Rhône spice, while the long élevage produces a silky texture rather than hard, drying tannin.

Inopia Blanc brings Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier from the Orange area into barrel and cement-egg ageing. Its four grapes create a white with citrus and floral lift, peach-like fruit and fuller body; the 18 months undisturbed in vessel hold those elements together with fresh acidity and saltiness.

Magis is the Châteauneuf-du-Pape white. The 2021 blend is Grenache Blanc, Clairette, Roussanne and Bourboulenc from Pierredon and additional Courthézon plantings. Full-lees ageing without racking builds a concentrated palate, so melon, yellow plum and apple are carried into brine, smoke and mineral rather than ending as soft fruit alone.

In The Glass

Inopia Rouge leads with transparent red fruit, then turns silky across the palate. Grenache supplies the central fruit, while Syrah and Mourvèdre bring spice and grip; 18 months in foudres, cement eggs and large barrels soften the texture without erasing the wine’s balance.

Inopia Blanc moves from citrus, jasmine and white peach into a full-bodied middle. Oak smoke appears beside salt rather than over the fruit, because the wine has spent its long élevage across barrels and cement eggs. Fresh acidity keeps the finish dry and saline.

Magis is more concentrated: melon, yellow plum and apple sit beneath sea salt and brine. Its limestone-heavy Bédarrides source and extended lees ageing lead to a smoky, steely-mineral finish, with weight held in place by the wine’s saline line.

A Bottle To Understand It

Choose Inopia Blanc 2022. It is a Côtes du Rhône Villages white of Grenache Blanc, Marsanne, Roussanne and Viognier, aged for 18 months in 500-litre barrels and 1,600-litre cement eggs. Citrus, white peach and jasmine open the wine; smoky oak, fresh acidity and salt carry it through a long saline finish. It puts the estate’s four-part white blend, long lees contact and mixed-vessel cellar work into one bottle without requiring a move straight to Châteauneuf-du-Pape.

Anecdote

The Rhône estate started with a French state sale. In 2009, Rotem and Mounir Saouma acquired a five-acre Pignan parcel that was somewhat neglected and lay beside the Pignan lieu-dit and Rayas’ Bois de Rayas. At that point there was no established Saouma cellar in the Rhône to receive the harvest. When the first fruit came in, the couple vinified it at the Famille Perrin winery. The first stage of the estate was therefore a small Pignan holding, followed by wines made in another family’s facilities while the Rhône project took shape.

Final Word

Rotem & Mounir Saouma joins Rhône appellations to a cellar routine built around lees, foudres, barrels and cement. Start with Inopia Blanc for citrus, peach and salt; move to Inopia Rouge for red fruit and silk, or Magis for the fuller, briny shape of Châteauneuf-du-Pape white.

Sources

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