Domaine des Pothiers - Côte Roannaise La Chapelle 2023

Bettane & Desseauve

About the estate:

Romain Payre has become one of the finest ambassadors for Gamay from the Côte Roannaise, where he has excelled for several vintages on his 21-hectare estate. The benchmark cuvée is best enjoyed young, while the Clos Du Puy and Intégrale cuvées are medium-aged wines made from vines over 80 years old. This is a highly recommended and reliable estate, whatever the cuvée.

Guide Hachette des vins

About wine:

A single vineyard cuvée grown on 4 hectares of granite (dacite) soils on a hilltop at an altitude of 520 meters, aged in wooden vats. On the nose, finesse and expression with notes of redcurrant, blackcurrant, and spices. On the palate, full-bodied, velvety, crisp fruit, silky, refined tannins, and a lovely fresh finish. Delicious, and will continue to be so for several years to come.

About the estate:

Living with his parents Georges and Denise since 2005, Romain Paire took over this long-established family estate in 2017. Founded in 1610 in the commune of Villemontais, in the southern part of the appellation, the estate has been farmed using mixed farming and livestock methods (beef cattle) since 2010. The 23 hectares of vines are organically and biodynamically farmed. The estate, which covers 23 hectares of vineyards, is used for mixed farming (beef cattle) and has been run organically and biodynamically since 2010. It is one of the (very) safe bets of the Côte-Roannaise appellation.

RVF - La Revue du Vin de France / Guide des Meilleurs Vins de France

About wine:

La Chapelle is the great success of the vintage, offering depth, pepper, and powdery tannins.

About the estate:

Georges Paire, who comes from a family of farmers, began planting his vineyard in the 1970s. In 2005, his son Romain joined him and the plantations continued, the winery was modernized, and the estate turned to organic farming. Today, the estate still has a small herd of Limousin cows. We appreciate these carefully crafted, sincere wines: a modern and dynamic embodiment of the appellation.

Jancis Robinson

About wine:

There is such a difference in terms of sensation, quality, and intensity between the wine from the estate and this one that I almost lost my balance. La Chapelle is a bit like opening an old rusty gate and entering a secret garden, a garden overgrown with roses that intertwine and bloom among old fruit trees covered with lichen. There are damson plums and wild strawberries, raspberries growing in the rocky gullies of collapsed stone walls. And between the fruit and the freshness of the earth and stone, there are spicy notes reminiscent of blueberries, oolong tea, cinnamon, and juniper berries. The tannins are imbued with fruit and taste of rain, like rain on lichen-covered stones. It is hauntingly beautiful.