Dominique Rocher

DOMAINE ROCHER
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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 Cairanne

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.

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.