Harvest at Domaine Ricard

Ten years ago, the growers of Touraine had grown restless. Most had tasted or heard about the wines of a young, quiet winemaker. His name is Vincent Ricard. Ricard’s wines were startling, terrifically concentrated and mineral wines. The Sauvignon Blanc was easily the equal of top shelf Sancerre. Ricard’s top red wine was so concentrated that the neighbors finally put their feet down. If they allowed Ricard’s wines to carry the “Touraine” appellation, the dilute wines being turned out by the cooperative faced critical ridicule. So they did what all jealous French farmers do. They tried to shut Ricard down by trying to refuse appellation controlee status to Ricard’s wine. Why? The official word was that the wines “weren’t representative of the appellation.” But the subtitle was, “If these wines are labeled as Touraine, we’re all out of business!”

On our last visit to Vincent’s estate in the hamlet of Thesee-la-Romaine, just a stone’s throw from the famed Chateau de Chenonceau, we spent a few hours with this always smiling, cherubic, Teddy Bear of a winemaker. Ricard works his ground and manages his vines and cellar like the best producers of Chavignol. He has also turned the Touraine appellation on its ear, and wines like the 2007 “Trois Chenes” — a rich, sinewed, mineral Sauvignon Blanc that puts most Sancerre to shame — have become staples on some of the best tables of France, from St. Malo (Luc Mobihan’s Le Saint Placide) to La Baule (Eric Mignard’s Castel Marie Louise) to Chenonceaux (Le Bon Laboureur).

This absolutely stunning 2007 Trois Chenes is made from Sauvignon Blanc harvested from low-yielding hillside vineyards. Like the best villages of Sancerre, the calcareous soil retains the heat of day, offering optimal conditions for the production of world class Sauvignon Blanc. But Ricard shyly explained to us that in order to make world class wine in Touraine, he has to be even more diligent than the producers of Sancerre, limiting yields, manually removing weeds from the foot of each plant, eschewing the use of chemical herbicides and pesticides.

It takes a vintage like 2007 for the cream to really rise to the top. Most of the growing season was cold and rainy, requiring constant passages in the vineyards with a keen eye for mildew. Then, on August 20, the weather turned on a dime; the summer arrived suddenly and the region enjoyed sunny, dry weather for almost two months. One more time Ricard found himself alone in Touraine. While the others picked their overcropped vineyards early on, fearful that the mildew would destroy the entire harvest, Ricard was in no hurry. He finally began picking under glorious conditions on September 15, going parcel by parcel for over 30 days, bringing in pristine fruit with perfect physiological ripeness.

Tasting Notes from the WineAccess Travel Log

“Pale green hue. Fresh, crisp nose of green apples, honey and wet stones. Rich and concentrated with barely a hint of sweetness on the palate. Fine apple/pear/honeyed flavors with a long persistent finish. This beautiful 2007 has all opulence, elegance and a wonderfully, long crisp finish. Serve it with fresh goat cheese and you’ll wonder why you eat or drink anything else. Drink now-2012.”