The UnCorker

Weird Wine of the Week-2005 Domaine Philippe Tessier Cour-Cheverny “Les Sables”

April 14, 2009 | In WINE REVIEWS |

Cour-Cheverny is a weird appellation created for a weird grape, romorantin. Just east of Touraine is where romorantin has its last redoubt. Why? That’s what we at The UnCorker wondered- is it because it is sandwiched between Vouvray and Sancerre and is being pushed out by those giants, chenin and sauvignon blancs? Is it not commercially viable? Its an ancient vine, and it has been cultivated in the Loire for centuries, some vines dating back to the 1850’s somehow escaped phylloxera. There are two producers of note in Cour-Cheverny; Domaine Philippe Tessier, and Francois Cazin, who claims that in bad or mediocre vintages, romorantin produces harsh, angular wines- so maybe thats it; after all a producer can make an insipid, mediocre Sancerre, and it will still sell itself.

I guess thats reason enough to admire the folks still producing Cour-Cheverny- plus, Domaine Philippe Tessier is all organic- the 2005 “Les Sables” is clearly a labor of love; a big rich white wine with 14.5% abv, a lush, dense mouthfeel full of custard apple, honey and white flowers that still has enough acid and stony minerality to stave off fatigue, and a bit of mushroomy earthiness to make it complex. A 2005, this bottling still has years of life to it, drinking beautifully now, we were impressed with its freshness and vivacity. If that sounds like a delicious white Burgundy I’m describing, its good to note that romorantin and chardonnay are cousins- of course the Cour-Cheverny punches well above its weight; really, what do you get out of Burgundy for $17 these days? Clearly we at The UnCorker are enamoured of this wine- it has it all; its hand-made, a delicious terrior driven wine thats a great value for folks that want to drink wines and not labels.