Rocher Violettes Chenin 22
… Across the river from Vouvray, the tiny appellation of Montlouis has been home to one of the most amazing and exciting wine revivals of modern France, and at least three Montlouis growers – Blot, Chidaine, and Xavier Weisskopf (of Rocher des Violettes) – are challenging the local qualitative pre-eminence of Vouvray…DAVID SCHILDKNECHT, wineadvocate.com
Xavier Weisskopf is based in Montlouis, across the Loire from Vouvray, and makes a variety of wines, often from old vines…It’s dry and delicious, with aromas and flavors of lemon, honey and flowers, just right for scallops or other seafood dishes. ERIC ASIMOV, The New York Times
...the most exciting was Xavier Weisskopf, of Le Rocher des Violettes. His wines, crystal-pure, vibrant, pithy and long, were revelations. CHRIS KISSACK, thewinedoctor.com
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Sometimes the French bureaucracy works in our favour, like in this instance. Vines lying on the boundary of Montlouis, just to the north of a great vineyard, Les Borderies have to be declassified i.e. they can’t say they’re from Montlouis. Those in the know have protected these 60-year-old vines for decades, so precious is the juice produced.
In fact, the quality of these vines is so great that it’s treated the same in the vineyard and winery as other chenins at Domaine Rocher des Violette, that go for double the price.
Rocher des Violettes is a small winery established in 2009 by Xavier Weisskopf. Having studied and worked in Burgundy and beyond, he’s brought the minutia of detail to Montlouis, delineating plots of like-minded vines and executing them with purity and precision. Chris Kissack sums the style up nicely, ‘His wines, crystal-pure, vibrant, pithy and long, were revelations.’
This is a nervy and expressive chenin. Dry in style its tingling spine of acidity wraps around a core of apple pie, chalk and honeysuckle notes. Its minerally origins imbue a saline tail on the crisp and laser-focused finish. The fruit purity and quality shine through, a blend of 60-year-old vines from the boundary of Montlouis and a section of their single vineyard Touch Mitan (TM). TM is a cooler site riddled with limestone, silex and clay, injecting nervosite into the wine.
If you haven’t had a chenin cuddle in a while then this is a lovely awakening into the vineyards of Montlouis and its boundaries. We had it the other night with pork schnitzels and it was an incredibly delicious match. The richness of the two married nicely while the vibrant and minerally acidity cleanses the finish.
And it’s impressively priced too – one of the best value chenins we’ve seen in a while. The beauty of chenin is its ability to age, so if you’d prefer your wine more on the honeyed side then you can tuck this away for a few years. I can’t resist its brash and ebullient nature when it’s young.
Cheers
Gabrielle