He has owned 2 hectares in the Côte Blonde and La Landone since the 1970s but fortune has blessed him through his inheritance of four hectares of superbly sited vineyards from his father in law Albert Dervieux and another 1.4 hectares of particularly old vines from his uncle Marius Gentaz. He now has 7.4 hectares which in Côte Rôtie terms is a significant holding.

René Rostaing has made a life’s work of defending the idea that Côte Rôtie should taste like Côte Rôtie, not like Hermitage, and certainly not like new world Syrah. In fact, he is nothing less than a beacon for those we’ve called the region’s “Classicists”—vignerons whose philosophies incorporate some new ideas while capturing the best of the region’s traditions—to make wines of purity and expression that are the essence of their region, village and vineyard.

A grower since 1971, his first vineyard purchases were a microscopic half acre each in Côte Blonde and in La Landonne on the Côte Brune. The real breakthrough came when his father-in-law, Albert Dervieux-Thaize, retired in 1990, followed by his uncle Marius Gentaz three years later. Between these two legendary growers, Rostaing acquired over ten acres of very old vines in some of the appellation’s top sites.