2021 · Haut-Coustias Rouge

Oratoire Saint-Martin is a Cairanne estate whose vineyards lie exclusively within the commune, mainly on steep hills around 200 metres above sea level. The Alary family farmed the domaine for ten generations, pioneering organic viticulture in the 1990s and biodynamics from 2008; the Abeille-Fabre family, owners of Château Mont-Redon, took over in 2020. The vines are hand-worked, with biodiversity encouraged and lunar cycles followed for vineyard work and bottling. More than 40% of the vines are old, rooted in pebbly colluvions, limestone gravel and marl. Frédéric and François Alary make predominantly red wines through low-intervention methods, using indigenous yeasts, minimal sulfur and aging in tanks, concrete eggs or small foudres. Bottling is unfined and unfiltered.