Thierry Germain - Domaine des Roches Neuves : Clos Romans 2017

Tasting Notes and Recommendations for Clos Romans 2017 by Thierry Germain - Domaine des Roches Neuves

Tasting

Appearance

The wine shows a bright, clear straw-yellow hue of great crystalline purity.

Nose

The nose is concentrated, fresh, and powerful, offering aromas of white-fleshed fruits such as pear and apple, lifted by citrus notes (lemon, grapefruit). Floral touches of acacia, hawthorn, and rose add elegance, while exotic nuances of pineapple and dried apricot round out the aromatic palette. Subtle vanilla notes from aging enrich the whole.

Palate

The attack is straight and powerful, revealing remarkable concentration of white and exotic fruits. The palate stands out for its great crystalline clarity and delicacy, carried by vibrant limestone minerality and a brilliant saline edge. The texture remains airy despite aging, preserving remarkable tension. The sumptuous finish delivers lingering fruit, accompanied by a discreet touch of vanilla sweetness.

Food and Wine Pairings

This dry white wine pairs beautifully with seafood and shellfish such as oysters, lobster, or a shellfish nage. It also complements delicate fish with elegance, such as sole meunière, sea bream en papillote, or a scallop carpaccio. Aged goat cheeses also make a harmonious match.

Serving and Cellaring

Clos Romans 2017 can be enjoyed now and will continue to evolve through about 2029. Its cellaring potential extends to around fifteen years, during which it will develop complex tertiary aromas.

An exceptional Chenin Blanc from the Saumur appellation in the Loire Valley

The estate

The Domaine des Roches Neuves was established in 1850 by the Duveau family in Varrains, five kilometers from Saumur in the Loire Valley. In 1992, Thierry Germain and his wife Marie took over a twelve-hectare holding under lease, before becoming its owners. Thierry Germain, from a Bordeaux family line spanning six generations of winegrowers, quickly converted the estate to organic farming (certified in the late 1990s) and then to biodynamics (Biodyvin certification in 2003). Today, the estate covers twenty-eight hectares across sixty-one parcels. The Germain family, with their children Louis and Jeanne now involved, and a team of eleven people, practices rigorous biodynamic viticulture including horse-drawn farming on four hectares. The estate has been awarded three stars by the Revue du Vin de France, an accolade shared with only one other estate in the Loire.

The vineyard

Clos Romans is located in the commune of Parnay, within a historic clos with 11th-century walls overlooking the Loire. The soil is composed of thirty centimeters of clay-sand over hard, white Senonian limestone. This parcel benefits from a distinctive microclimate created by the tuffeau walls and the proximity of the river. The vines, planted at a density of ten thousand vines per hectare, come from massal selection. All soil work is carried out using horses, preserving the structure and microbial life of the terroir. Natural ground cover promotes biodiversity and strengthens the vineyard’s resilience. This exceptional parcel produces a dry white wine from the Saumur appellation, expressing a hallmark crystalline minerality.

The vintage

The 2017 vintage in the Loire was marked by spring frosts that reduced yields, followed by near-ideal harvest conditions. These conditions made it possible to produce a wine of brilliant clarity, combining remarkable minerality and concentration, while preserving an exceptional sense of harmony and refinement.

Vinification and aging

The Clos Romans 2017 grapes were harvested by hand with rigorous grape selection. After gentle pneumatic pressing, alcoholic fermentation took place in 400-liter oval barrels with a thickness of 52 millimeters for around two months. The wine was then aged for nine months on fine lees in those same barrels. All operations were carried out at low temperatures in an underground cellar carved into the estate’s natural tuffeau, allowing optimal natural thermal regulation to preserve the purity of the fruit and develop aromatic complexity.

Grape variety

100% Chenin Blanc