Damien Laureau, 2024 Update
I have been knocking on a number of cellar doors in Savennières during the course of the past few years, as evinced by my report earlier this week on a visit to Tessa Laroche of Domaine aux Moines, not to mention previous reports to meet and taste with Thibaud Boudignon, Evelyne de Jessey-Pontbriand of Domaine du Closel, and the movers-and-shakers still entering the appellation from the south of the river, including the likes of Vanessa Cherruau at Château de Plaisance, and the team at Domaine Belargus.
And then there was my aborted visit to see Eric Morgat, called off by Eric because of a family emergency. Happily everything turned out well in the end, and even better I have since successfully called in on Eric to see what he has been up to (hint: it’s quite a lot, and there is a report in the pipeline).
Perhaps one of the most memorable visits to the appellation was to see Damien Laureau. It was back in 2021, and we were still all reeling from the effects of Covid-19. Masks were de rigueur as we bumped and bounced our way through the vineyards in Damien’s half-van-half-bus vehicle, a camion so wide and square I never imagined he would attempt to pilot it through his tiny parcel in the Roches-aux-Moines vineyards.
But of course that was exactly what Damien (pictured below, later that day, socially distanced of course) did.
