Domaine de Rocheville is a relatively young estate in Parnay. Clos Rougeard is widely considered as the finest producer of Cabernet Franc in the world, only a few minutes from Centre Ville of Saumur. The experiences were opposed in many ways except for the feeling of relevance - the tasting of our favorite grape in its spiritual home.
Each of the wines showcased the transcendent flavors and aromas of Cabernet Franc from this part of the world — the darker fruits, the subtle root veg of beet and radish, the herbs - parsley and fresh coriander — with a structural ebullience of acidity and powdered tannin that announced — like Whitman’s yawp — their varietal prototypicality.
Rocheville is situated in the tiny town of Parnay (pop. 500), nestled above a cleft in the tuffeau cliffs that have lent their soul to the buildings of Saumur and left behind the temperature-controlled perfection of the galleries favored by wineries for the storage of wine. The wines here are inexpensive, Saumur Blanc (Chenin Blanc) and Saumur-Champigny (Cabernet Franc) at the highest end less than 30 euro. The estate offers a number of different red wines, each grouped by name — like suits in a deck of cards — for royal personages: The Page, The Prince, The King, and Le Fou de Roi (The Jester).
Each of the wines showcased the transcendent flavors and aromas of Cabernet Franc from this part of the world — the darker fruits, the subtle root veg of beet and radish, the herbs - parsley and fresh coriander — with a structural ebullience of acidity and powdered tannin that announced — like Whitman’s yawp — their varietal prototypicality. The wines of Rocheville are exemplars of the purity of Cabernet Franc fruit. Their uncomplicated ease is as meeting again, an old friend.
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