Martin Texier Rouvière Clairette Roussanne 2024

Martin Texier is a natural wine producer based in St.-Julien-en-St.-Alban in the northern Rhône Valley of France. The son of Eric Texier, a renowned northern Rhône natural winemaker, Martin Texier established his winemaking operation in 2014 after studying economics and pursuing a career in music as a DJ.

Before returning to winemaking, Martin Texier spent time in New York City learning the wine trade through internships at Uva Wines in Brooklyn and Flatiron Wines in Manhattan. He also worked at A1 Records. This experience in the American wine market informed his decision to follow his father's path and return to viticulture in France.

Martin Texier manages five hectares of vineyards in and around St.-Julien-en-St.-Alban. The vineyards are planted with classic Rhône grape varieties including Syrah, Cinsault, Grenache, Roussanne, Clairette, Muscat, and Chasselas Rose. The estate features diverse soil types including clay, limestone, gneiss, schist, and granite, allowing for production of different wine styles.

The winemaker practices farming methods situated between biodynamic and regenerative agriculture. Martin Texier focuses on maintaining living soils and selecting cover crops appropriate to the terroir. Vineyard work includes replanting where necessary and managing permanent vegetation cover. Grapes are harvested manually.

In the cellar, Martin Texier employs minimal intervention techniques. All fermentations occur with indigenous yeasts without added sulfur or with minimal sulfur additions. Wines ferment and age in neutral vessels including concrete tanks and neutral oak barrels. The wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered.

Martin Texier produces wines under the Côtes du Rhône Brézème appellation, an area he emphasizes requires aging to express full potential. His Cinsault comes from the oldest vines in St.-Julien planted in the 1950s on limestone and marl soils. He also produces pétillant naturel wines and works with young vines planted in 2018 on granitic soils.

The producer's winemaking philosophy evolved from an initially minimalist approach to recognizing that Syrah requires precise winemaking and proper maturity to achieve finesse. Martin Texier aims to produce wines reflecting traditional northern Rhône character rather than modern fruit-forward styles.

The Rhône Valley is a major wine-producing region located in southeastern France. The region extends approximately 240 kilometers along the Rhône River from Lyon to Avignon and the Mediterranean coast. The Rhône Valley encompasses 31 appellations and approximately 165,000 acres of vineyards, making it the second-largest AOC wine region in France after Bordeaux.

The Rhône Valley divides into two distinct sub-regions: the Northern Rhône and Southern Rhône. The Northern Rhône extends from Vienne to Valence and features a continental climate with harsh winters and warm summers. This area accounts for approximately 5% of total Rhône production. The Southern Rhône stretches from Montélimar to Avignon and experiences a Mediterranean climate with warm summers and mild winters. The Southern Rhône produces approximately 95% of the region's wine.

Syrah is the dominant red grape variety in the Northern Rhône and the only permitted red grape in most northern appellations. White grape varieties include Viognier, Marsanne, and Roussanne. The Southern Rhône features Grenache as the primary red grape, often blended with Syrah and Mourvèdre in the traditional GSM blend. Red wines account for 76% of production, rosé represents 14%, and white wines comprise 10%.

Côtes du Rhône AOC is the largest appellation, covering 171 communes and accounting for two-thirds of regional production. The Northern Rhône includes prestigious appellations such as Côte-Rôtie, Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage, Condrieu, Cornas, and Saint-Joseph. Notable Southern Rhône appellations include Châteauneuf-du-Pape, Gigondas, Vacqueyras, Tavel, and Lirac. Châteauneuf-du-Pape became the first official AOC when the appellation system was established in 1936.

The Rhône Valley features diverse soil types including granite in the north and varied soils ranging from limestone to pebbly deposits in the south. The mistral wind, which blows from the north at speeds averaging 60 mph for approximately 150 days per year, significantly influences viticulture throughout the region.

The region contains over 6,000 wine-growing properties including 1,837 private wineries and 103 cooperatives. Annual production reaches approximately 4 million hectoliters. Wine production in the Rhône Valley dates to Greek colonization in the 4th century BC, with Romans establishing extensive vineyards along the river.