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Domaine aux Moines Update, January 2011

In my quest to understand Savennières it is only natural that I should eventually come to the wines of Domaine aux Moines. This estate, home to mother-and-daughter team Monique and Tessa Laroche, has possession of a prime position on the Roches-aux-Moines, and has the largest holding of vines in this Savennières cru of any domaine. Their dominion comprises close to 9 hectares of vineyard, every last square metre of which is located within the boundaries of the Savennières Roches-aux-Moines appellation.

The winemaking here has changed little in recent years, the Laroche family generally fermenting in tank and using only a small amount of oak, or occasionally none at all; it all depends on the vintage in question. The style of wine is very traditional for this, and they tend to show best after a considerable period of bottle age. I must confess that although many of the wines give some pleasure, I have never found them to be particularly inspiring. Attractive, yes. Dry, austere and sometimes pleasingly challenging, yes. But enthralling, in the manner of a wine from Damien Laureau, Yves Guégniard or Claude Papin? Not in my experience. This opinion of Domaine aux Moines was, however, somewhat upset by this most recent tasting, although not quite in the manner I expected.

I began tasting with Tessa Laroche pouring the wines, and Monique in the background, although the two seem to be able to swap roles quite seamlessly, effortlessly moving from vintage to vintage without fuss. We started with a sequence of eight dry wines, the order of serving very much guided by the vintage. Up first was the 2004, a less convincing vintage said Monique, before subsequently working backwards through to 1992. The 2009 and 2008 vintages were second and third in this line up, and whereas the 2004 had been a fairly solid wine in keeping with what I expect from the domaine, these both seemed immediately more convincing than the more mature vintages I have tasted in the past. The 2009 especially so, with its cool and composed character, honeyed fruit and lemony lift. And the 2008 showed an appealing matchsticky-reductive element, with a considerable structure hidden beneath.

We then jumped back to 2003, the vintage which has every vigneron muttering "canicule" as they pour the wine. This example did indeed reflect the heatwave character of the vintage, with a very bold substance no doubt enhanced by the wine's 15% alcohol. There is acidity here too, though, so it hasn't completely yielded to the sun-baked power of this vintage. The 1999 was not so expressive on the nose, and didn't want to say much on the palate either, whereas the 1998 was a touch superior with its light minerality lifting the wine up a little. The 1994 comes from a rather light vintage, although there is certainly pleasure to be found in this year, as I recall Domaine des Baumard's 1994 Clos du Papillon as being of more than serviceable quality. So too with the Laroche wine, which was certainly more than decent. Finally came 1992, one vintage I have at least tasted before, and it certainly showed a more appealing character now, as it approaches its 20th birthday. It still has plenty of life in it though.

I followed up my assessment of the dry wines with a look at the two sweeter cuvées, the Cuvée des Nonnes and Cuvée de l'Abbesse. These are wines I was until now entirely unfamiliar with, and that is a great shame because - as I discovered in the course of this tasting - they can be truly remarkable. The former is labelled as moelleux, and usually has 25-45 g/l; in the case of the 2005, tasted here, the figure was in fact 44 g/l. This was eclipsed though by the Abbesse, labelled as doux, the 2007 and 2008 vintages boasting 88 and 90 g/l respectively. But what blew me away was how these concentrated, sweeter efforts seemed to focus the quartzy minerality of the terroir into the wine, becoming redolent of a top quality Quarts de Chaume as they did so. Of all the many hundreds of wines I tasted at this year's Salon, the Cuvée de l'Abbesse is one of the very few I have tried to track down for my own cellar. Unfortunately, it seems as though distribution is very limited, so I will have to continue my hunt for the moment. Either that, or pay Monique and Tessa a visit at their domaine, of course. (14/6/11)

Domaine aux Moines, January 2011 - Tasting Notes

These wines were tasted in January 2011. All my notes on the wines of Monique and Tessa Laroche, including those below, are collated under my Domaine aux Moines profile. Click to locate stockists.

I have kept my notes in the order of tasting, starting with 2004, but otherwise working backwards from 2009.

Domaine aux Moines Savennières Roches-aux-Moines 2004: Quite an expressive nose here, a very yellow style of fruit, with a seam of stony minerality to it, as if it were a blend of yellow plum and limestone, with the slightest hint of matchstick. There follows a very polished and harmonious style on the start of the palate, the bold flavours tightening down into the midpalate where it shows considerably more substance, minerality and firm structured acid backbone. Completely balanced, although in a very bold style, the forceful substance cut though by an acidity that brings a lot of cellaring potential here. A good, firm, sappy finish, bold and long. 17/20

Domaine aux Moines Savennières Roches-aux-Moines 2009: This has been in bottle just two weeks. Decanted. A lovely purity of fruit here, with a honeyed streak offset by a rather lemony lift. Clearly it is showing a very primary character right now. Very cool and composed here, supple, with everything very well tucked in at the start. Then through the middle there is a building of every possible component, the fruit developing an open, more gritty, tangible style, together with a fine acid core and good grip. It seems very harmonious and on the finish it really rolls along very nicely. Rich, and clearly in possession of great potential. Alcohol 14.5%. 18-18.5/20

Domaine aux Moines Savennières Roches-aux-Moines 2008: This vintage has a lovely, smoky, matchsticky, honeyed, mineral quality on the nose. It is quite a serious style, and this character follows up on the palate with a very harmonious character, and very polished and substantial fruit, yielding to a wealth of structure and grip beneath. Very balanced, the fruit always maintaining a very slight upper hand, but there is no denying the serious structure to it. This is remarkably elegant and despite the firm structure the very well-polished fruit makes this approachable now. Delicious. 17.5/20

Domaine aux Moines Savennières Roches-aux-Moines 2003: A very hot summer, the heatwave vintage. A small harvest. Very expressive notes of honey on the nose here, with that smoky, quartzy, minerally edge to it. But it is the bold sweetness that seems most apparent, with a firm density and almost confit yellow plum element to it. Lots of firm and tangible extract on the palate as well, this is clearly very concentrated. It undeniably shows the character of the vintage, with a very bold substance but ultimately a very dry and firm structure underneath. Impressive but not so typical of the domaine I feel. There is acidity, so not a wine to be automatically avoided on account of the vintage though. Alcohol 15%. 16.5/20

Domaine aux Moines Savennières Roches-aux-Moines 1999: This vintage is not so expressive as some of the other wines shown here. There is a sweetness to the fruit, a golden edge of honey over plum, but also the same matchsticky minerality. A very reserved and dry character on the palate. The definition of the texture is there but the flavours are rather more reticent as they were on the nose. There is certainly a rather more closed character here than the younger wines. It can be coaxed out with a little effort. Not a great length either. A difficult wine. 16/20

Domaine aux Moines Savennières Roches-aux-Moines 1998: A touch more expressive than the 1999. A light minerality at its core, with some rather restrained golden fruits, although it is also suggestive of a very bold substance. The palate certainly has a rather cooler and yet better filled-out style, showing a building substance into the midpalate with some golden, lightly crunchy but very concentrated fruits. Quite grippy in fact, a lightly chewy style into the finish. Even at thirteen years of age I think this still warrants being left alone in the cellar, although it is nearing approachability. 17/20

Domaine aux Moines Savennières Roches-aux-Moines 1994: A noticeably more golden hue than the younger wines, and a fresh, chalky-minerally nose here too. The palate is dry, with a honeyed suggestion to the flavour profile although with a very bold, beeswaxy, stony quality to it. It has a richness of flavour but not too much sweetness, and a character which slowly evolves and unfolds in the mouth, showing a good supporting but not domineering structure. A yellow-plum and vanilla finish. This is certainly attractive, and is ready to drink now. 17/20

Domaine aux Moines Savennières Roches-aux-Moines 1992: A similar style to the 1994 on the nose, where the wine shows some very elegant and substantial honeyed fruit aromas but with a very dry suggestion around it; these are concentrated wines, intense rather than sweet. Very harmonious on the palate, full and showing some rather flattering substance, and a very well-defined character. Rather a supple style, a little more fleshy and generous than the 1994, with a fresh acidity at its core. Very appealing and ready to go now. Dry and very long in the finish. 17.5/20

The Laroche family have a section of their vineyard within the Roche-aux-Moines cru planted to red varieties.

Domaine aux Moines Anjou-Villages 2009: This wine is one-third Cabernet Sauvignon, two-thirds Cabernet Franc, and is hand picked, unfined, unfiltered and has minimal use of sulphur. A nicely concentrated hue on inspection, very dark and youthful. A bright fruit nose, with some typically schisty-clovey fruit. A very supple texture on the palate, a good gentle weight at first, and then in the midpalate a deeper grip, a more dense substance, with plenty of acid and crunchy depth here. There is a rather wild character to the fruit on the palate, but the wine certainly has some depth. Good. 15/20

We finished with three superlative sweet wines.

Domaine aux Moines Savennières Roches-aux-Moines Cuvée des Nonnes Moelleux 2005: This wine originates from the second and third tries in this vintage. The residual sugar is 44 g/l here, the acidity 6 g/l. An attractive style here, certainly presenting a softer and more honeyed style on the nose, with golden-sweet fruits. It has freshness as well though, the mineral suggestions keeping it that way, the sweetness carrying a beeswax suggestion. A lovely softness on entry. The structure of the wine is still there, all bright acid with a fine, volcanic mineral feel, and there is a tannic grip to it as well, but over it all there lies a cushion of sweetness which seems to work very harmoniously. A deliciously honeyed style. A lovely wine that balances grip with fresh sweetness, yet incorporates all the minerality of the appellation. This works quite beautifully. 18/20

Domaine aux Moines Savennières Roches-aux-Moines Cuvée de L'Abbesse Doux 2007: This has a much more concentrated style than the preceding 2005 Cuvée des Nonnes, not surprising when we consider this has 88 g/l residual sugar, and comes entirely from the first tri. The wine shows a much sweeter and concentrated character on the nose, all beeswax, honey and densely sweet tropical fruits. Beautifully flattering on the palate, very relaxed and yet bright and expressive, showing beautiful purity, with a dry, tangible grippy finish which fades into a good length. This is really very impressive indeed. The minerality and acidity and grip and sweetness and fruit have a perfect integration. Clearly expressive of a great terroir. 18.5/20

Domaine aux Moines Savennières Roches-aux-Moines Cuvée de L'Abbesse Doux 2008: In this vintage the residual sugar is 90 g/l, the source being 100% botrytised fruit. Another beautifully composed style here, aromatically such fine purity with both the minerals and golden fruits showing a very expressive character, although in a different style to the 2007 here, as there is more honeyed depth. This comes through on the palate which is more firmly botrytised than the aromatics suggested, being all quince, apricots and almond sweetness. A dense, sweet, pastille character to it drives home this sweet intensity. An incredible wine, but certainly a different style in this vintage. It has that deep texture that both wines grip you mouth with. Remarkable. 18/20