 |
| Tonight’s tasting: Domaine des Huards 6-8 pm no reservations needed $15 |
| I confess to being one of those absurd middle-aged men with an appreciation for dogs, cats, and children. Adults, sometimes less so, but their children, especially of the introverted, no-thank-you sort, but also of the preternaturally verbal variety excited by the world and eager to report on what they’ve seen of it. I am always happy to see kids in my shop, and even if I’m in a neurochemically evoked state of grouchiness I feel better after being graced by their presence. As a wine merchant, I may see the same child every few weeks while their parents browse my shelves, and it is both confusing and wonderful to witness individuation and social development through the lens of an outsider. Confusing, because a chatty, ebullient mom may have a quiet, shy daughter who buries her face in her mom’s pants legs whenever I say hello (and if you are familiar with my mien, you too might want to hide). And then one day, without warning, shy daughter responds to my question, “what are you doing today?” with, “oh, reading Winnie The Pooh,” and a five-minute disquisition on Pooh, Eeyore, Tigger, &, etc., as her mom knowingly smiles and rolls her eyes. Just because you know a child’s parents does not mean you necessarily know the child, and the same observation may be made about wine grapes. Tonight, we are tasting a wine made from the romorantin grape, a cross between gouais blanc, a well-connected white grape that is behind any number of other grape varieties, and pinot noir. While romorantin shares the same parentage as gamay it is nothing at all like gamay, not one bit, and, truth be told, it is nothing much like any other white grape variety. The precise historical heritage of romorantin is a little mystifying, as it is either a very old variety, first grown in Burgundy in the late middle ages, or a more recent grape, first documented in the early 19th century. Whatever its historical backdrop one thing to know about romorantin is that often has gobsmacking acidity, and so if you suffer from GERD you may want to sit this one out, or at least take Pepcid before the tasting. Romorantin has much more to offer than a mouthful of acid—it tastes like an antiquated remnant of a premodern wine sensibility, with bitter herbs modulated by slightly waxy, quince-y extract (Cazin’s Cuvée Renaissance is a transcendental example; I love it, but trying selling wines with residual sugar these days and get back to me). We have Alexandre and Paulina Gendrier from Domaine des Huards in the shop tonight, Loire Valley vigneron with a particularly deep attachment to romorantin, a grape beloved by Alexandre’s grandfather. In addition to their romo we are tasting two light-bodied reds, blends of gamay and pinot as they do in the region, as well as another white, a blend of sauvignon and chardonnay, as they do in the region. |
| Domaine des Huards “Pure” Cheverny 2018 Domaine des Huards Cour-Cheverny Romo 2017 Domaine des Huards ”Envol” Cheverny 2017 Domaine des Huards “Pressoir” Cheverny 2016 |