Domaine des Pothiers: Vineyards
Domaine des Pothiers is located in the commune of Villemontais, in the southern quarter of the Côte Roannaise appellation, to the southwest of the city of Roanne. It is located on the foothills of the Massif Central, and all around it are dotted little parcels of vines. Today viticulture and winemaking dominate life here, but as I have already mentioned in my history of the domaine the Paire family have not denied their origins and heritage; they continue to keep some Limousin and Bazadaise cattle, just as Romain Paire’s grandfather and other ancestors did.
From tiny acorns oak trees do grow, and this domaine continues to expand. A century ago Claude Paire was content with 2 hectares of vines, but when I first met his great grandson Romain Paire in 2018 the domaine accounted for 18 hectares, and today he has 22 hectares under vine. Of these 22 hectares the vast majority are planted to Gamay Saint-Romain. The name of this cultivar is said to originate from the village of Saint-Romain-la-Motte, which lies just to the northwest of the city of Roanne. Locals (including all the vignerons) will tell you that this village was the location of the vine nursery that supplied all the local growers, so it is perhaps not surprising that the vine took the name of the village. These same locals will also assert that Gamay Saint-Romain is a precious variety distinct from others bearing similar names, and that it is particularly well suited to the granite soils of the region. Ampelographers, however, do not seem to place great weight upon this distinction. Writing in Wine Grapes (Penguin, 2012), José Vouillamoz lists Gamay Saint-Romain as a synonym for Gamay Noir (more formally known as Gamay Noir à Jus Blanc, to distinguish it from the red-fleshed teinturiers). In truth Gamay Saint-Romain is a particular clone of Gamay Noir, albeit a valuable one in my view.
Looking first to the red vineyards, these are scattered across numerous parcels with varied terroir, the lesser parcels with sandy granite soils, and some more valued parcels with clay and granite, and the fruit from this collection of parcels tend to find their way into two blended cuvées (more detail on which below).
