La Grange Tiphaine, 2022 Update
The voice on the other end of the telephone said something like this:
“I am sorry, that wine has just sold out. I can offer you a replacement though. It’s from a young guy just returned to the Loire Valley, And he is taking over his family’s vineyards not far from Montlouis-sur-Loire. It’s a Touraine red – I think you should try it.”
Naturally, my interest was piqued, and I accepted the replacement bottle. That was the first time I heard about Damien Delecheneau and La Grange Tiphaine. It was a telephone conversation I had perhaps eighteen years ago and there is much about it I no longer remember. I don’t recall the name of the wine merchant I was buying from. I certainly do not remember which wine was out of stock, nor do I recall the identity or vintage of the cuvée in question. Let’s face it, sometimes I think it is a miracle I can remember my own name.
I do remember the replacement wine though. As my opening paragraph indicates, it was a red Touraine blend, although a blend of exactly what I’m not sure. Second, it was pretty good, enough for me to think this might be a vigneron, and a domaine, that I should investigate further. I am nothing if not persistent (even if it can sometimes take a year or two to get around to doing things), and subsequently I got to know Damien and his wines a little better.
In 2008 he was joined in his endeavours by his wife, Coralie (pictured above – possibly sending us a message concerning her favourite white variety?), and today the Delecheneaus are in charge of one of the more significant domaines in the region. In this tasting report I present a slew of tasting notes on recent releases, tasted and sometimes retasted with Damien and/or Coralie on three separate occasions over the course of the last ten months. Before I get to the wines though, I first dig a little more deeply into the domaine and its vineyards.
The Domaine
It is clear, looking back, that Damien Delecheneau had a vision and a drive no less impressive than that which can be found in other leading vignerons of his generation working in Montlouis-sur-Loire and in Vouvray. Just as Vincent Carême set about improving and expanding a small family domaine in Vouvray, Damien Delecheneau was doing the same here in Montlouis-sur-Loire and Touraine. An early sign of his vision was the conversion of the family’s vineyards to organic viticulture, starting almost as soon as his boots hit the ground, with certification coming after the requisite three years of adherence to organic methods, along with the required inspections, in 2007.
