Alexandre Hote
Tavel, Rhône Valley, France
After twenty years of farming his family's vines for the local cooperative, Alexandre Hote started his own domaine in 2019. From 4.5 hectares of stony terraces in Tavel and Lirac, he makes lively, low-intervention wines, including a Tavel Nature that shows how good this historic rosé appellation can be.
Tavel, in the southern Rhône just across the river from Châteauneuf-du-Pape, is known as the "first rosé of France." Here the vines grow on clay-limestone terraces covered with galets roulés, the large round stones that store the day's heat and give the wines depth and structure.
Alexandre grew up in the vineyards. Like Eric Pfifferling of L'Anglore before him, he comes from a Tavel family that sold its grapes to the cooperative. For twenty years he managed the family vines, while making small batches of wine in his garage, experimenting and learning. In 2019, at the age of 40, he bought a parcel outside the family holdings, built a small cellar behind his house, and Domaine Alexandre Hote was born.
The domaine covers 4.5 hectares of Grenache, Cinsault and Syrah across Tavel and Lirac. It is certified organic, and the vines are treated only with Bordeaux mixture. Alexandre spends most of his time in the vineyards. He describes his approach as "ethical" rather than following a fixed philosophy.
In the cellar, the tools are simple: a vertical press, a few stainless steel tanks and six barriques. Wine is moved by gravity, and everything is bottled by hand with his wife. Rather than following a recipe, Alexandre tastes constantly and adjusts maceration times, pressing speeds and barrel ageing from one vintage to the next. His Tavel Nature is bottled with no added sulphites. It has often been compared to L'Anglore for its energy and vibrancy.
A young domaine, but one with twenty years of vineyard experience behind it. Alexandre Hote is a name to follow in Tavel!
