Domaine des Pothiers: Tasting & Drinking
Tasting through the full range of wines from Domaine de Pothiers, what struck me on the first time I encountered the wines was the remarkable strides in quality I encountered in the middle of the portfolio. The entry-level cuvées are attractive and competent wines, filled with fun fruit flavours, and unfettered with oak. But then came the more convincing single-vineyard cuvées, in particular L’Intégrale and Clos de Puy. These wines, with their succulent vinous textures, energetic and well-formed frames, along with their floral black-fruit flavours, were very convincing.
The second realisation, which only came after returning to the wines again and again over the past decade, has been the evident improvement in quality seen over time. Romain Paire has pushed quality upwards, the entry-level cuvées now more dense, concentrated and appealing, while the cuvées parcellaires are superb single-site expressions of Gamay Saint-Romain and granite terroir combined. Or, being more precise, Gamay Saint-Romain and rhyolite or dacite terroirs, depending on the cuvée.
This push in quality comes with a rare benefit, as this is one domaine to outclass its peers even in weaker vintages. As a consequence, while I favour the wines of more benevolent years such as 2023, 2022, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016 and 2015 (especially, it has to be said, the rich and concentrated 2018 vintage), I also found the wines to be very successful in the washout 2024 vintage. Given the fact the problem in 2024 was rain, rain and more rain, perhaps the fact the domaine lives in a modest rain shadow east of the Massif Central (it is debatable whether the rain shadow stretches as far as the Côte Roannaise, but rainfall here is certainly much less significant here compared to the lower reaches of the Loire Valley), perhaps the domaine was spared to some degree. The wines are better than others I have tasted from the same appellation in this vintage though, so I think Romain Paire has to be given some of the credit.
Domaine de Pothiers is clearly a leading domaine in the appellation, turning out top-notch wines which will keep me coming back here again and again. (4/1/18, updated 12/8/26)
