I often have difficulty writing about great wines. They’re so much more than a shopping list of aromas and flavors, but nonetheless leave a visceral and lasting impression. After Kermit once shared some marvelous old white Burgundies from his cellar with us I wrote him and said that the better the wine, the shorter my tasting notes seem to get, and I felt a bit sheepish about that. After all, we’ve all read the florid peans to the world’s great wines. Whole books even. What’s wrong with me that I can only scratch out “wow!” or “unbelievable!”? Kermit wrote back and said that I shouldn’t sweat it. One of his favorite influences, Lucien Peyraud of Domaine Tempier, never had lengthy tasting notes. His highest praise was “Ça, c'est du vrai vin.” That’s real wine.
      Well, Thierry Germain’s wines from Domaine des Roches Neuves are the real deal. His Cabernet Francs from Saumur-Champigny are models of purity, finesse, and drinkability, while avoiding rusticity, vegetal character, and hard tannins. Think of a cross between old-school Bordeaux and fine red Burgundy. When it comes to Chenin Blanc, Thierry’s Saumurs are bone-dry, high-acid, mineral whites that drink like Chablis young and take on weight slowly over time. From white and red, young or old, these wines are as pure and as profound as any I’ve ever had. In other words, wow.
      Having only begun working with Thierry in 2016, we sourced this tranche of older vintages from the domaine’s previous west coast importer and assembled an exclusive offering of these treasures so that you can experience the magic of Thierry's more mature bottles.  We are confident that the late, great Lucien Peyraud would consider them vrai vin. We certainly do.