Domaine Guiberteau, 2022 Update
About seven years have passed since I first tasted the wines of Romain Guiberteau. It was Romain’s father I met first, at a tasting hosted by the regional organic association, La Levée de la Loire. Within a year or two I had visited the domaine to meet Romain himself, and to taste a broader selection of his wines. I was back there the following year, checking out the vineyards in as well as tasting the most recent vintage. It seemed pretty clear to me that the domaine was a significant new addition to the Saumur wine scene.
Fast forward seven years and it has been difficult keeping track of Romain and his wines. He has found there are many demands on his time, such is his new-found popularity. It is a world away from his experience as a student, a less successful period of his life. During one of my visits, a few years ago, I’ve asked Romain how he did as a student, when he studied law.
“Fail, mostly”, was his reply.
Romain (pictured) certainly isn’t failing today, and there are several reasons for the domaine’s popularity. The first is the quality of what he bottles, especially in white, which is evident to most who taste it. The second is his association with Clos Rougeard. In what diehard fans of the Foucault brothers would probably refer to as the post-Rougeard era, the hunt for a Clos Rougeard replacement has been ongoing for several years. That Romain was mentored for many years by Nady Foucault, and the fact that even while running his own domaine he continued to work in the Clos Rougeard cellars (more with the white than the red, I believe) means for some he is an obvious candidate for anointment.
No pressure, then.
After not being able to check in for a year or two, a consequence of the Covid-19 pandemic, I was delighted to catch up with Romain, his team, and his wines, early in 2022.
