The Black Collection

Rooted in the weathered black basalt of the Coiron volcano, Domaine Arsac is a study in resilience and reinvention. Sébastien Arsac farms what is essentially stone, yet the vineyards hum with life: chestnut trees, wild grasses, and the fragrant yellow jauné flower that somehow thrives in this harsh, porous soil. His family planted here when the Ardèche was considered too rugged for wine, and Séb carries that spirit forward with equal parts grit and curiosity, balancing seventy-year-old Grenache with trials of Vermentino, Assyrtiko, and the nearly extinct Chatus. It’s an ecosystem shaped by organic farming and stubborn faith, proof that beauty can take root where no one expects it.

Lying just 30 meters above sea level, the 25-year-old vines draw from classic Garonne gravel with veins of yellow clay. Rows are oriented north–south to maximize sunlight, a subtle but critical detail in a region with minimal slopes. Certified organic since 2013, these vines stand shoulder-to-shoulder with classified growths of Margaux.

The ‘22 vintage in the Ardèche was, like many great vintages, quite unremarkable in the day to day. A wet Spring at the beginning represented one of the only hazards, and Sebastien deleafed his canopies to avoid any unnecessary mildew stress. Summer temperatures were warm and consistent leading into harvest on September the 12th.

Hand-harvested and destemmed before loading into an open-top oak fermenter. 18-day maceration and fermentation on the skins. The free-run juice is taken off the skins and left to age for 20 months in French oak barrels and Austrian Stockinger.

Set on the black basalt slopes of the Coiron volcano, Domaine Arsac reflects the wild identity of the Ardèche, a region known for its deep river gorges, limestone cliffs, ancient chestnut forests, and prehistoric treasures like the famed painted Chauvet Cave. Far from the polished image of the Southern Rhône, the Ardèche has long been considered too remote and too rugged for fine wine. In these porous, demanding soils, organic farming allows the land to self-regulate, holding precious moisture through dry summers. The result is something humming with life, and unmistakable beauty, somehow wine that thrives in a landscape where almost nothing comes easily.

The story of the Domaine de la Ville Rouge, and the family at its center begins in earnest in 1919 when Paul Girard dug into the rolled pebble soils of the Northern Rhône’s left bank to plant Syrah grapes. Now, Paul’s great-grandson Sébastien, tends a handful of these same vines, mostly looking after the gnarled Syrah his grandfather planted some forty years ago. Dedicated wholly to the expression of this highly unique terroir, as soon as the current generation began farming here in 2006, the conversion to organic farming began, and now, the Domaine farms within the lunar cycle, certified Biodynamic.

A sportsman, before steering the Ville Rouge winery in a new direction, Sebastien was a champion white water kayaker, and still takes his two eldest sons on adventures on some of the most harrowing rivers in France.A native to the heart of the Rhône valley, there is a certain rugged masculinity to the reds from the Domaine, filled with flavors of earth, and even game, they also have a surprising amount of fruity charm to spare.

At 120 meters on a plateau of Valanginian limestone, 57-year-old vines are gobelet-trained to shade grapes in the southern heat. The cuvée comes from the first “little plot of land,” that Berry and Althoff acquired, marking the genesis of their estate’s journey.

A balanced and fresh vintage. Regular rainfall in spring and late summer allowed for slow and even ripening, giving the wines a more fruity and crisp profile, with notes of fresh red fruit, violet and white pepper, and beautiful mineral tension.

Grapes are hand-harvested, and loaded into the fermenter with 15% whole bunches before a 6 day cold maceration. The skins are left in contact with the wine for three weeks of fermentation with regular pumpovers. The wine is racked into used oak barrels and left to age for 12 months.

Carved into the vertiginous 40% slopes of Saint-Joseph, these vineyards demand something close to heroism. With almost no organic material to cushion the vine, every inch must be tended by hand, and every task (rebuilding stone walls, managing erosion, hauling equipment) is magnified by the gradient. Mechanization is impossible, and commitment is a non-negotiable. This is one of the Rhône’s truly “heroic” terroirs, shaped by growers whose courage and precision are the only way grapes can ripen here at all. The result is wine of unmistakable character, ripe with fruit, but presenting the herbal and spiced complexity that has enchanted wine lovers for centuries.