Le Rocher des Violettes, 2023 Update
There are a couple of exceedingly well-known domaines in the Montlouis-sur-Loire appellation, the vignerons behind them well recognised and lauded for the quality of their wines. But there are also a handful of domaines who work in a similarly meticulous manner, turning out dry, demi-sec and sweet wines, very often of a comparable quality, yet do not receive an equal share of the limelight. One of these domaines is without a doubt Le Rocher des Violettes (another is La Grange Tiphaine – but that’s an update for another day) where Xavier and Clémence Weisskopf turn out a fine array of Chenin Blancs in the aforementioned styles.
Unlike Vouvray on the other side of the river, vignerons working in Montlouis-sur-Loire also have a local red wine heritage which they can tap in to (indeed, before phylloxera, there were more red varieties than white planted on these soils). This is predominantly in the shape of Cabernet Franc and Côt, in the Touraine and Touraine-Amboise appellations (I’m looking forward to getting to grips with all these Touraine offshoots in my Touraine wine guide – once I’ve done Montlouis-sur-Loire, Chinon, Bourgueil, Jasnières and the like, that is), but you can also find Pinot Noir, Gamay and the like. It makes for an interesting portfolio of wines (and some of the cuvées of Côt I have tasted over the years have been exceptional).
Earlier this year I stopped off to catch up with Xavier Weisskopf to check out his latest efforts in these areas, white and red. And it turns out that there have been quite a few developments here since we last tasted together.
