Henry Marionnet is a family-owned estate with nearly 60 hectares planted to local Loire varieties. There are no chemicals used in the vineyards, nor oak in the cellars.
The Marionnet family makes excellent and classic... Read More
Henry Marionnet is a family-owned estate with nearly 60 hectares planted to local Loire varieties. There are no chemicals used in the vineyards, nor oak in the cellars.
The Marionnet family makes excellent and classic wines with tons of freshness and lift. They grow Gamay and Sauvignon Blanc on Perruche soils: flinty clay with small amounts of sand and gravel. Planted between the late ‘60s and early ‘80s, the Sauvignon Blanc is elegant and vibrant, with lots of white fruit flavors (white peach, melon, pear) and concentration. The Gamay charms with a medley of strawberry, raspberry, and subtle vanilla on a juicy, silky frame.
But the Marionnet family is possibly best known for their version of a vanishingly rare Loire variety called Romorantin. Just 60 hectares are planted in the subregion of Loir-et-Cher, named for two tributaries of the larger Loire River, and it is exclusively permitted in just one AOC, Cour-Cheverny. The Marionnets proudly tend to a plot of Romorantin vines that were planted in 1850, making them quite possibly the oldest extant grapevines in all of France.
Somehow, these Romorantin specimens survived the plague of phylloxera; in 2006, some shoots from the old vines were planted, ungrafted, next to their “mother”. Romorantin is a grape of richness and character. Harvested late, it produces sweet wines with a honeyed profile and a lush texture.
