Domaine Richou: Tasting & Drinking
For some time the Dom Nature was the only cuvée from Domaine Richou I had encountered, but having been suitably impressed I had promised myself that I would try to familiarise myself with the full range of wines made at this domaine. Happily a tasting with Didier Richou in 2015 allowed me to do just that, and even more fortuitous was the fact that the tasting concentrated on 2014, a good all-round vintage for the Loire Valley. Then we followed up with 2013 which, although somewhat weaker in red wines, did yield some fresh and acid-fresh whites up and down the Loire.
Particularly notable was the 2014 Anjou Rouge La Champ de la Pierre, the Gamay cuvée sourced from vines planted on an elevated ‘button’ within the Les Châteliers vineyard. The 2014 La Sélection, a sweet Coteaux de l’Aubance, was also very pleasing. In 2013 it was the two white cuvées, the Anjou Blanc Les Rogeries and the Savennières La Bigottière that showed best, each displaying a rather soft and delicate style as they did so. The crème de la crème, however, was the 2010 Dom Nature, a very strong effort marked with notes of beeswax and quartzy minerals. If you needed one reason to get acquainted with this domaine, you needed look no further than Dom Nature in my opinion.
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