Our Growers:

"One of the best estates in the entire Rhône Valley. Domaine Ste Anne, the 64-acre estate of Guy Steinmaier, is superbly located on a hilltop with a vast view of the southern Rhône River basin. The thin, balding Steinmaier is an innovative as well as serious winemaker; his description of his wine as "an intermediary wine between Gigondas and Chateauneuf-du-Pape hardly does it justice." (Robert Parker). Maintaining an unusually clean cave is only one of the many ways in which the Domaine Sainte-Anne goes to unusual lengths in the interest of quality. Guy Steinmaier and his two sons make great wine year in and year out by making sure that they do things right before their harvest goes into their fermentation vats: with first-rate fruit, they believe that more than half the battle for great wine is won.

To begin with, their terroir is extraordinarily fine, and of a type that is extremely rare in the southern Rhône. The soil at Domaine Sainte-Anne has less clay, no cobblestones, and is less heavy

than that common in the southern Rhone. It does, unusually, have sandstone and limestone. The resulting wines ten to be less thick and heavy, but they do not lack for good flesh, depth or length. In addition to the soil, the vineyard sits on a high, wind-swept plateau surrounded by forest. The days are 2 to 3 degrees cooler than the plain below, and the nights are especially cool, so the grapes cool down at night and are never "cooked" by the southern summer's heat.

There are other factors that contribute to Domaine Sainte-Anne's quality. The Steinmaiers keep yields low even by French standards. They ensure that what goes into the fermentation vats will be of the highest possible quality by hand-harvesting using small plastic cases, which does the least damage to the bunches, and by making a severe triage, bunch by bunch, at the entrance to the cave in order to eliminate leaves and green or rotten stems (fully 15% of the harvest is siphoned off at the cave for Vin de Pays). They are equipped to de-stem or not according to the condition of the stems, which allows them to obtain the advantages of whole-bunch fermentation, with stems in (aromatic and flavor contributions of vanilla, honey, resin and spice), but it also allows them to avoid the dry and hard tannins of unripe or rotten stems when necessary.

The Steinmaiers pioneered the making of Viognier in the south. It is harvested early; the wine is vinified and aged in vat, rather than in wood, because wood would give the wine a vanilla flavor that marries poorly with the Viognier's fruit. And the malolactic fermentation is blocked in order to conserve acidity and freshness. However, it is fermented at a higher temperature than the Domaine's ordinary white wine in order to fully bring out the grape's rich aromas. This method, along with the Domaine's very fine soil and cool microclimate, makes for a very classy-- clean, fine, rich and very long-- Viognier. The Steinmaiers' version combines classic mango and apricot aromas with a firm, refreshing "stoniness" from the calcaire. It is never heavy or cloying. "Should you find a bottle of Ste. Anne's Viognier...it is stunning, not only the most successful Viognier made in the southern Rhône, but similar to a very fine Condrieu." (Robert Parker)This is a white wine with enough backbone, interest and flavor to drink alone either as an aperitif or instead of a cocktail. Or drink it with chicken and pork in light sauces, vegetarian dishes or rich seafood dishes such as lobster with melted butter; it is also delicious with ham or turkey or any light meat or fish dish served with a fruit-based sauce, sweet chutney or relish.

The Domaine Sainte-Anne Côtes-du-Rhones are not your average "Southern Côtes-du-Rhones." These are refined, sometimes tight, high-acid, firm Rhones, with density and length rather than warmth and sheer power. The tannins are always very fine and tight. Their lower alcoholic degree and their higher acidity prevent them from ever being fatiguing: they are glorious "food wines." They age exceptionally well: up to 20 years in the case of the better cuvées; easily 10 or more in the case of even the "little" CDRs or CDR Villages.

Aromatics are always "cool:" small red-to-black fruits (raspberry to cassis); fresh wild herbs like sage; sometimes spice (black pepper); cool notes of licorice to pitch, evolving to tar and truffle with bottle age.

Côtes-du-Rhône rouge: 4 ha of 15 year-old vines. The soil is clay-calcaire with "cailloutis" of small white rocks covering the soil. Sainte-Anne's generic CDR is a bargain: an "ordinary" CDR from CDR- Villages-quality terroir. Grenache 75%, for warmth, body, color, and spice; most of the other 25% is Syrah, for structure, longevity and fruit with some Cinsault, for fruit and finesse

CDR VILLAGES: 20-30 year-old vines. Grenache 60%, Syrah 30%, Cinsault & Mourvèdre 10%

CDR VILLAGES "Cuvée Notre-Dame des Cellettes": 30-50 year-old vines. Grenache 60%, Syrah 30%, Mourvèdre 10%. Very rich and concentrated. "Slightly firm, with good ripe black currant, tobacco and plum sauce notes" (The Wine Spectator, Mar 31, 2008).

CDR VILLAGES "Saint-Gervais": 35-50 year-old vines. Grenache 20%, Syrah 30%, Mourvèdre 50% (in some years, up to 70%). Steinmaier considers the soil for this wine to be his best. A very complex wine.

VIOGNIER: 1.5 hectares planted in 1970 and 1.8 hectares planted in 1986-1987.

Les Mourillons: This domaine wine is from old-vine Syrah and is aged in oak for 10-12 months. It has a robe of garnet red with aromas of leather and vanilla and a spicy and tannic structure. "Dark and juicy, with a solid beam of blackberry and fig fruit layered with some tobacco and toast. Nice persistence on the finish" (The Wine Spectator, Mar 31, 2008). This wine keeps for 8 to 15 years and goes well with meat in sauce or game.