Domaine Raymond Trollat is one of those mythical names that, for many, exists more in whispered reverence than in firsthand experience. Raymond Trollat was a small grower and winemaker in Saint-Joseph, working tiny parcels on the granite slopes around Saint-Jean-de- Muzols and Mauves — the historical cradle of the appellation. He was never a large producer, never commercial in the modern sense, and never inclined toward marketing or expansion. What he did instead was dedicate himself quietly, obsessively, to tending his vines, most of which were planted decades earlier, and to making wines of pure authenticity.
For decades, Trollat bottled his wines in a straightforward, unpretentious manner, selling much of it locally, with little concern for outside acclaim. But among those who discovered his bottles, a legend grew: here was a man making Saint-Joseph as it used to be, with soulful concentration, rustic elegance, and a transparency to the granite soils. Trollat eventually retired in 2005, selling his holdings to neighbors and friends (some vines eventually contributing to benchmark wines at Gonon and Gripa). With his retirement, Domaine Trollat ceased to exist — which meant no more of these singular bottles would ever be made again.
As often happens with cult figures, rarity transformed into myth. Today, Raymond Trollat’s wines are among the most sought-after in the Northern Rhône, not because of glossy scores or marketing, but because of their integrity. They are wines preserved in only a handful of the world’s most important cellars, traded quietly among serious collectors. Even seasoned sommeliers may never hold a bottle, let alone taste one.
Among the vintages, the 1996 Saint-Joseph stands out as one of the most profound. It captures Trollat at his height, before retirement, with old-vine Syrah, marked by balance and freshness rather than power. What makes the ’96 so remarkable is not just its taste, but the way it embodies Trollat’s philosophy: wine not as a luxury product, but as a direct line from soil, vine, and farmer’s hand to the glass. In its maturity, the wine becomes more than a beverage — it is history, memory, and the distilled voice of a man who never chased fame, but ended up creating a legacy so rare and treasured that his bottles are now regarded as talismans of authenticity.
Founder 
Ps. It is particularly important to note that the late Raymond Trollat, who passed at 91 years of age, began making wine in the 1940s, working with techniques and know-how that today every boutique and artisanal winery strives to emulate. Yet for most of his life, at a time when the industry rewarded industrially fabricated, commercial wines, Trollat — much like Bartolo Mascarello in Barolo or Gianfranco Soldera in Montalcino — was considered the old timer who hadn’t caught up yet. Only in retrospect do we see the truth: he was not a contrarian, but a visionary. What the world once dismissed has now been revealed as nothing less than genius. Trollat stands among the great artists and legends of wine, a man who preserved authenticity long before the rest of the world knew its contribution which is nothing short than making art and capturing in a bottle. 
Raymond Trollat was resolutely traditional, working in a way that many modern domaines would later emulate. His harvests were always done by hand, in small boxes, with fastidious selection to ensure grapes reached perfect physiological ripeness without tipping into overripeness. Fermentation took place in simple cement vats, often with whole clusters and stems intact, a choice that lent aromatic lift, complexity, and structure. Indigenous yeasts drove the fermentations, which could be vigorous thanks to the stems, while extraction remained gentle, relying on remontage and pigeage to bring purity rather than power. Aging occurred exclusively in old neutral demi-muids and pièces, never in new oak, allowing the finished wines to express only Syrah and granite. After 18 to 24 months of élevage, the wines were bottled unfined and unfiltered, untouched by manipulation, in the manner Trollat and generations before him had always practiced. The 1996 Saint-Joseph is the perfect product of this approach: old vines rooted in granite, a cooler, balanced vintage, and utterly traditional methods combined to create a wine of astonishing purity.
Last year, we had the incredible opportunity to share a bottle of 1996 Raymond Trollat Saint-Joseph at an IWM colleague dinner — and it was nothing short of glorious. The wine was vibrant, impossibly young for its age, yet perfectly balanced, with a depth and finesse that left us all speechless. It brims with aromas of violet, black olive, cracked pepper, smoked meat, and crushed stone, its palate still youthful, tense, and perfectly balanced, with firm acidity carrying layers of dark fruit, spice, and earth. The finish is mineral-driven and hauntingly persistent. It is a wine that could only come from one man, one place, and one year — and it stands as one of the greatest expressions of Saint- Joseph ever bottled. It’s hard to capture in words just how unique and fabulous it was: a Syrah that seemed to carry both the soul of the Northern Rhône and the unmistakable fingerprint of a true master.
If you have the means to acquire this bottle, do not hesitate. It embodies everything a true wine lover seeks — rarity, authenticity, beauty, and longevity. This is the epitome of a unicorn wine: a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, the kind of bottle that dazzles not only your guests but also yourself, leaving a memory that lingers long after the last drop. A wine to treasure, a wine to lay down, a wine that defines why we fall in love with wine in the first place.
Market Price $2,100 IWM Special Price $1,599 – 12 bottles available
These wines are in our NYC cellar ready for collection 
Red wines of the Rhône are unlike any others, marked by their marriage of power and perfume, earth and elegance. Built on Syrah in the north and Grenache-led blends in the south, they carry an intensity of fruit and spice in their youth, yet what makes them truly unique is how they transform with time. Given enough years in bottle, their boldness mellows into harmony, revealing layers of leather, truffle, garrigue, and game, all wrapped in a texture that becomes silken without losing vitality. At maturity, a fine Rhône red is not just a wine to drink, but an experience of depth, history, and soulful complexity.
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White Rhône wines are among the most distinctive in the world, often richer and more textural than their counterparts elsewhere, yet capable of astonishing depth and longevity. Built from grapes like Marsanne, Roussanne, and Viognier, they show exotic fruit, honey, and floral tones in youth, sometimes with a waxy or nutty texture. With years in bottle, their uniqueness reveals itself: freshness gives way to layers of almonds, spice, beeswax, and savory minerality, evolving into something almost Burgundian in elegance yet unmistakably Rhône in character. At maturity, a great white Rhône becomes a wine of quiet power, mystery, and profound complexity.
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