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Domaine Vaquer

Domaine Vaquer is based in the tiny Roussillon village of Tresserre, twenty miles or so inland. Despite this quite central location in Roussillon, the Vaquer family do not produce any appellation wines at all, preferring to take advantage of the local vin de pays classification, in this case Vin de Pays Catalan. This started when Fernand Vaquer was refused the superior villages appellation, because his vineyards lie in the 'wrong' part of Roussillon, so instead he marked them as vin de pays. They sell, however, on the strength of the name Vaquer which is most prominent on the unusual striped labels. This scheme has been continued by Fernand's son Bernard who now manages the estate, together with his wife Frédérique who hails from Burgundy - they met when studying at Dijon. The Vaquers deserve credit for their ethos in running this estate; they have an obvious commitment to the quality of their own wines, as evidenced by their decision to not release wines in poor vintages, and also delaying the release of their wines on their way to maturity, often over five years on from the vintage.

The estate has 30 hectares cultivated, with Grenache, Carignan, Syrah, Cinsaut, Maccabeu the most populous varieties. The two red cuvées are the most noteworthy, with Cuvée Fernand Vaquer being 80% old-vine Carignan with Grenache, which sees an incredible five week cuvaison and two years in oak. The Cuvée Bernard Vaquer, however, has less Carignan and sees a less extraordinary two week cuvaison and just six months in oak, to maximise the fruit in this blend. In addition, there is a white Blanc de Blancs cuvée made entirely from Maccabeu grown on clay and flint and harvested at 30 hl/ha. Without malolactic this is another cuvée which, like the reds, has the potential to perform well in the cellar. There are also rosé and Rivesaltes bottlings. (1/11/04)

Contact details:
Address: 66300 Tresserre
Telephone: +33 (0) 4 68 38 89 53

Domaine Vaquer - Tasting Notes

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Domaine Vaquer Blanc de Blancs (VdP Catalan) 1991: A mature, honey-gold hue. Aromas of nuts, honey and oiled antique wood on the nose. The palate has a similarly mature impression, with an oily, macerated orange feel. Very fluid and balanced, but with a firm, grippy undercurrent, leading into a nig, ripe, marzipan finish. Nice length. Good but perhaps lacks a little concentration, but has decent style. 16/20 (October 2004) Label

Domaine Vaquer 'Cuvée Fernand Vaquer' (VdP Catalan) 1990: Advancing maturity, with a fairly wide orange rim around a pale, cherry-red hue. At first tinny, reductive aromas on the nose, yielding to leathery, dried meat aromas although these are somewhat muted, and then the cork taint appears. The palate has texture, and an autumnal-smoky character, and structure too. But it's corked. Of all my Roussillon wines I was looking forward to this one most - typical! No score. (October 2004) Label