Domaine de Couron is at home in the quiet village of Saint Marcel d’Ardèche, a village in the rolling hills of the Cotes du Rhone appellation where nothing much happens. Jean-Luc and Marie-Lise Dorthe represent the ninth generation of their family to make wine here. They make warm, straightforward, savory Cotes du Rhone on terraced vineyards of limestone scree, granite, and river-born clay. The wine is a blend of 60% Grenache and 40% Syrah, picked by hand to select only the healthiest fruit, then fermented slowly and at low temperature to preserve the pure fruit aromas and textural balance of the wine. Notes of dried black cherries and blackcurrants with a pastille-like quality share the nose with sun-baked earth, oregano, and thyme. The palate is well rounded with velvety tannins and deep set flavors of dark fruits, dried herbs, and a hint of graphite. This is about as traditional as Cotes du Rhone gets, with old school flavors that call for old school recipes; pot roast the way mom makes it, or chili that’s been simmering all day.