VINEYARDS & VITICULTUREHenry decided to replant these exceptional ancient Romorantin ungrafted vines on an untouched parcel in 2007, next to the old-vine plot planted in 1850, with the first harvest in September 2010.
SOILSPerruches soils: flinty clay with small amounts of sand and gravel
HARVEST & VINIFICATIONThe grapes are manually harvested and 100% destemmed. After pellicular maceration, the juice ferments in tanks with native yeast. No malolactic fermentation is used in order to preserve freshness. The wine then ages in stainless steel tanks until bottling in the spring following harvest
This is the new Romorantin, decidedly not what was generally found a generation ago (which tended to be an acid, austere wine often with oxidative notes), let alone what can be found today among the natty producers (likewise oxidative). This cuvée has a remarkable nose, akin to high-toned Riesling for some and Loire Chenin for others—a dense wine with layers of flavors reminiscent of apricots and baked apples and other autumn fruits. Bracing, lifted, long, and altogether distinctive. Vines average 35 years of age; the wine is raised in tank on its fine lees and bottled in the spring following harvest, usually before malolactic has a chance to take place