Domaine aux Moines, 2022 Update
There are few domaines in the Loire Valley to have undergone a metamorphosis so dramatic as that seen at Domaine aux Moines. The transition of the domaine from mother Monique Laroche to daughter Tessa brought a new vision and sense of dynamism to the domaine. Almost overnight the house style flipped from the rather old-school, waxy and lemony Chenin of old, a style which I acknowledge has its fans, to one of brilliantly electric and productive minerality.
Suffice to say I am a fan of this new style, which is increasingly dominant across not just Savennières, but all Anjou.
Not being able to meet up with Tessa Laroche during the past year or two, and consequently not being able to keep tabs on her most recent vintages, was one of the more depressing side effects of the travel restrictions imposed by the UK and France during the Covid-19 pandemic. So I was particularly delighted to be able to see Tessa, and taste her current releases, during a trip to the Loire Valley in early 2022.
Happily, because Tessa often pours a trio of recent vintages, and in truth it is only two years since we last met, I don’t seem to have a gap in my tasting notes. On the occasion of our last meeting, just before the pandemic really took hold in early 2020, the youngest vintage I tasted was 2018. And on this occasion we started with…2018. It was almost as if Tessa had planned it.
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