Alain makes about three thousand cases
of white Saint Romain each
year. And as far as I can tell most of them,
except for my small
allocation, go to the best restaurants in
France. I have personally
seen it at the Taillevent wine shop, La Cote
St-Jacques (3-star in
Joigny), Arpege (3-star in Paris) and Carre
des Feuillants (maybe the
best 2-star in Paris). The chefs love his
wine.
I know one thing. The wine doesn't last a
week in my cellar. I find
I've got my hand around that bottle's neck
whenever I hear the dinner
bell.
Even with very good directions you will
probably not find Alain Gras's
St Romain-le-Haut seventeenth century stone
mountaintop domain the
very first time you try. It towers above the
Cote de Beaune in
Burgundy - straight up about a hundred foot
cliff, in fact - and you
can see all those vineyards you think of when
you think of Burgundy:
Meursault, Puligny Montrachet, Volnay,
Pommard when you're up there.
I rarely go to Burgundy without seeing Alain
and hunkering down in his
rustic, charming tasting room. Alain is an
energetic, smiling man who
is always very generous with his time and
wines. Bob and I first
visited Alain Gras over fifteen years ago and
have been drinking his
100% Chardonnay Saint Romain consistently
since that time.
Alain Gras made his first wine in 1982 and
his star has risen steadily
since then. He is now considered to be the
most talented grower in his
area.
Your glass will stay wet in Alain's tasting
room and you'll love the
gorgeous purity of his wines. Alain's St
Romain is grown on
clay/limestone soil. The vines are 40 years
old. The grapes are
hand-harvested. The wine has a powerful nose
with the scents of nuts,
toast, and vanilla. It is fat and ample in
the mouth. You will taste
minerals and elegant, restrained oak.
Alain says his 2008 St Romain blanc
will be perfect from 2010 until 2014 or so.
Put some in your cellar, but don't expect it
to last very long. Cynthia
Hurley
