Hervé Souhaut created Domaine Romaneaux-Destezet in 1993 and built it up by planting vines and buying small parcels, many of them old, in the hills around Arlebosc and on the right bank of the Rhône. Trained as a biologist, he moved from grape growing that respects the environment to wines made without oenological additives. His cellar lies beneath Les Romaneaux, a fortified farmhouse dating from the 16th century.

The domaine covers about five hectares on acid granite soils, the same bedrock as the northern Rhône. Two of its sites lie in Saint-Joseph, on the right bank of the Rhône opposite the hill of Hermitage; the others lie higher in the Ardèche hills. Syrah and Gamay go into the reds, Viognier and Roussanne into the white. The grapes are picked by hand. The reds ferment as whole bunches, without destemming, in a long maceration at low temperature, and the wines age on their fine lees before bottling without filtration. Much of the range is sold as IGP Ardèche.

At Dynamic Cellars, we carry two vintages of the Clos des Cessieux, the 2019 and the 2020. See more in Natural Wines, Red Wines and Mature Wines (5 to 15 Years).