Jeff Grossman
Jeff Grossman
The regular Thursday in-store tasting at one of my local shops was more than usually interesting tonight. Xavier Weisskopf, of Le Rocher des Violettes, was present and pouring three of his wines:
Le Rocher des Violettes 2014 Montlouis-sur-Loire Petillant "Originel" - brut zero (fermented all the way dry and no dosage); I think he said 36 months on the lees; on entry, clean and crisp but clenched tight and not very giving; but 20 seconds later a miracle happens, retro-nasally, of beautiful chenin fruit just like it should be; hold, I guess
Le Rocher des Violettes 2015 Montlouis-sur-Loire "Les Borderies" - this vineyard has a thin layer of sandy soil over the famous local limestone; 13g rs which Xavier calls sec-tendre; I find the sweetness distracting, I think I want more acidity to balance it (e.g., German riesling, Foreau Vouvray)
Le Rocher des Violettes 2015 Touraine "Cot" VV - he has just 2ha of cot, spread out over 7 plots; not quite so earthy as that of CRB but this definitely has a family resemblance; Xavier says he never serves it without an hour of decanting
And, as I am waiting for a friend to join me at the shop, I engage Xavier on various topics...
The Cot ages well. He has made the wine since the beginning and has a vintage library back to 2005.
The store asked him to bring the Borderies. Only 10% of his sales are the sweet wines; he would have preferred to bring a sec wine (esp., "La Negrette") as they account for 90% of his sales.
The store has another of his wines, "Le Grand Poirier", available. It is labeled demi-sec but with 62g rs Xavier thinks it is beyond that; more like moelleux.
About 30% of his sales are in the US market.
The domaine was decimated by frost in 2016. He has produced only a single cuvee of about 1000 bottles... all that survived.
The domaine is organic, EcoCert, but not biodynamic yet. The whole topic is fraught, however:
-- First, there are problems using the little green EcoCert symbol on a US wine label and a run of labels is simply too expensive to print different ones for every market. So, he omits it, though we note some other wineries mention their certification in the back label blurb.
-- Another problem is EcoCert's behavior: The inspectors visit the domaine, riffle through the paperwork, collect 500 Euros, and leave. They also should be taking soil and plant samples to submit to laboratory to check e.g. for traces of pesticides. But lab tests are expensive and who's going to complain? Not the domaines, who value the certification. Not the public, which does not know or understand very clearly. Not the government, which does not get involved unless the scandal is gigantic. So, it's business as usual. But it gives the appearance of a racket.
He has been on the road for three weeks, starting in Melbourne and Sydney, then LA, New Orleans, DC, Philadelphia, Boston, and now NYC. He, and his wines, are taking part in a couple of wine dinners hosted around town.
Le Rocher des Violettes 2014 Montlouis-sur-Loire Petillant "Originel" - brut zero (fermented all the way dry and no dosage); I think he said 36 months on the lees; on entry, clean and crisp but clenched tight and not very giving; but 20 seconds later a miracle happens, retro-nasally, of beautiful chenin fruit just like it should be; hold, I guess
Le Rocher des Violettes 2015 Montlouis-sur-Loire "Les Borderies" - this vineyard has a thin layer of sandy soil over the famous local limestone; 13g rs which Xavier calls sec-tendre; I find the sweetness distracting, I think I want more acidity to balance it (e.g., German riesling, Foreau Vouvray)
Le Rocher des Violettes 2015 Touraine "Cot" VV - he has just 2ha of cot, spread out over 7 plots; not quite so earthy as that of CRB but this definitely has a family resemblance; Xavier says he never serves it without an hour of decanting
And, as I am waiting for a friend to join me at the shop, I engage Xavier on various topics...
The Cot ages well. He has made the wine since the beginning and has a vintage library back to 2005.
The store asked him to bring the Borderies. Only 10% of his sales are the sweet wines; he would have preferred to bring a sec wine (esp., "La Negrette") as they account for 90% of his sales.
The store has another of his wines, "Le Grand Poirier", available. It is labeled demi-sec but with 62g rs Xavier thinks it is beyond that; more like moelleux.
About 30% of his sales are in the US market.
The domaine was decimated by frost in 2016. He has produced only a single cuvee of about 1000 bottles... all that survived.
The domaine is organic, EcoCert, but not biodynamic yet. The whole topic is fraught, however:
-- First, there are problems using the little green EcoCert symbol on a US wine label and a run of labels is simply too expensive to print different ones for every market. So, he omits it, though we note some other wineries mention their certification in the back label blurb.
-- Another problem is EcoCert's behavior: The inspectors visit the domaine, riffle through the paperwork, collect 500 Euros, and leave. They also should be taking soil and plant samples to submit to laboratory to check e.g. for traces of pesticides. But lab tests are expensive and who's going to complain? Not the domaines, who value the certification. Not the public, which does not know or understand very clearly. Not the government, which does not get involved unless the scandal is gigantic. So, it's business as usual. But it gives the appearance of a racket.
He has been on the road for three weeks, starting in Melbourne and Sydney, then LA, New Orleans, DC, Philadelphia, Boston, and now NYC. He, and his wines, are taking part in a couple of wine dinners hosted around town.