The Wines of the Rhône Valley
PART TWO: THE SOUTH
(continued.
. .)
Dominique
Rocher
DOMAINE ROCHER
Dominique_tif6
Dominique Rocher
Route De St Roman
84290 Cairanne, France
Phone: 04 90 30 87 44
Fax: 04 90 30 80 62
web: www.rochervin.com
email: contact@rochervin.com
Anthony Bird
Rochervin@pacwan.fr
|
Dominique
Rocher,
owner of
Domaine Rocher |
|
| The
Southern Crus |
The
Southern Crus from Montelimar to Avignon are:
1. Red and white Chateauneuf
du Pape,-S
In the 14th Century, the Popes established
at Avignon resurrected this vineyard. The red wines
are well known, complex, smooth and powerful. The
whites are very delicate.
2. Red and rose Gigondas-S
This vineyard replaced the olive
groves after the great frost of 1956. It produces
red wines which are bold and intense and a few roses
which are heady and pungent.
3. Red, rose and white Vacqueyras-S
In the 16th Century, the village
already boasted 6000 individual vines. Here you
can find powerful red wines as well as a small quantity
of whites and roses.
4. Red, rose and white Lirac-S
The wine has been part of the local
landscape for more than 2000 years. The red wines
are elegant with a pronouncedb bouquet ; the whites
and roses are rare but fresh and fruity.
5. RoseTavel-S
This has been greatly appreciated
since the 10th century. Considered to be the number
one rose in France, this wine is well structured
and full flavoured.
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|
Located
in the village of Cairanne, Domaine Rocher is located in the
Department of the Vaucluse between Orange and Vaison La Romaine.
Other villages of this region include Gigondas, Seguret, and
Vacqueyras. Out of this region, our visits included Cairanne,
Gigondas, and Vacqueyras. Cairanne now has 23 independent winemakers
and the wines are all classified as Appellation d'Origine Controlee.
There are 1250 hectares of vines around the commune and of the
860 inhabitants of the village, around 80% are connected in
some way with wine. Total annual production of wine for the
village, including the Cave Cooperative amounts to 57,500 hectolitres
of which 25,500 hectolitres are A.O.C. Côtes du Rhône
Villages Cairanne, and 32,000 hectolitres of Côtes du
Rhône.
The total surface of Domaine Rocher comprises of 15 hectares
(38 acres) of vineyards and a further 5 hectares of wooded land
including an olive grove and a truffle patch. The 1997 production
totaled 40,000 bottles of Côtes du Rhône Villages
Cairanne (red), 22,000 bottles of Côtes du Rhône
Red, 3,000 bottles of Côtes du Rhône Rose, and 3,000
bottles of Côtes du Rhône White.
All the grapes are picked and sorted by hand at Domaine Rocher
and stems and grapes are separated for 90% of the yield. The
vats are filled using a gravity system as opposed to the more
common method of pumping. Up until Domaine Rocher was created
in 1996, all the grapes had been sold by the previous owner
at the local cooperative. Dominique Rocher installed a new cave
and state of the art technology. The Domaine has enjoyed good
press coverage, and their most significant wine, Cuvée
Mr. Paul 1997, has been awarded a Gold Medal at the
Macon Concours des Grands Vins in May 1999. Domaine Rocher was
a very memorable visit.
We pulled up to the winery to watch a mobile bottling company
bottle the 1998 harvest which had been sitting in tanks for
about one year. The 1999 harvest was just in. Dominique Rocher,
along with assistant Anthony Bird, greeted us as we drove up
the driveway.
A winery in existence for 2 years, all effort had been poured
into the creation of a great winery.. Formerly an owner of the
French Restaurant Monsieur Thompson's in London, an inheritance
from his father put Dominique in the position of making his
dreams of owning a winery come true. After travelling the world
to inspect and compare winery properties and wine producing
techniques, Dominique settled on the property in Cairanne. He
created his first wine in honor of his father. His Cuvée
Mr. Paul 1997 has been awarded a Gold Medal at the Macon Concours
des Grands Vins in May 1999. .
|
| A mobile
bottling company bottling the 1998 harvest which had been
sitting in tanks for about one year. |
As he poured the wine for us , he toasted his father in heaven(
as is his custom) for making his dream come true. This wine
is rich and very concentrated in the mouth, with fine and polished
substance. A seductive wine that shows balance. The blend consists
of 60% grenache, 40% syrah.
Their 1998 Rocher Côtes du Rhône
consists of 55% grenache grape, and is a fruity blend, strong
in tannins. The Cairanne '98 R Rocher also has a characteristic
that is fruity in nature, with a splash of black currants and
black cherries. He uses five agents, assigned by importer Eric
Solomon of European Cellars.
