Beaujolais adventures (8) Domaine de Romarand, Quincié
Website: https://domainederomarand.fr/
Domaine de Romarand is an exciting new Beaujolais producer based in Quincié.
Anastasia Kritikou is Greek, married to an Italian (Michele Dall’Aglio). They are both architects by training and met in Lyon. In 2020 they sold their Paris apartment and moved to Beaujolais with their two young daughters, where they bought a large agrotourismo with a winery in the basement. They have renovated the property, and as well as offering accommodation, Anastasia is following her dream of making natural wine. ‘It was my passion to make wine,’ she says. He’s continuing with his architectural work.
The previous owners had stopped making wine a decade earlier, so Anastasia, who learned winemaking in 2019, has renovated the cellar. With its old wooden basket press and concrete tanks, it’s pretty old school (the press is 150 years old), but cleaned up it’s perfect for making natural Beaujolais. There is a new addition: a concrete egg. This is what she makes cuvée alpha in. The previous owners ripped out the vines, but there’s a plot behind the house where she’d like to plant Assyrtiko.
They have been buying parcels of old vines in Lantignié, Regnié and Quincié. Debut vintage was 2021. They are currently in the first year of conversion to organic farming, which takes three years. Altogether she says there are 2.7 hectares.
Anastasia says that 2021 was a difficult year with lots of rain and delayed maturity. ‘It was my first year,’ she says. ‘Only cuvée alpha is made without sulfites, but the other wines have low levels of sulfites at harvest and bottling (30 mg/l total).’
In 2021 the grapes were totally destemmed. In 2022, a warmer year, she used 30% destemmed grapes and 70% whole bunch. It’s early days still, but this is a domaine showing huge promise.
THE WINES
Domaine de Romarand Quincié 2022 (from tank)
Blue stone soils. 70 year old vines, 14% alcohol. Generous and ripe, but well defined with some firm tannins and a nice spicy edge. There’s some grippy structure here with nice density. Shows good intensity. 94/100
Domaine de Romarand Regnié Gamma 2021 Beaujolais, France
Pink granite soils. Semi-carbonic maceration (the tank is filled with carbon dioxide, the tank is filled with grapes, and they let the juice at the bottom ferment), aged for 8 months. Lovely assertive aromatics with sweet cherries and redcurrants and a fine spiciness. The palate is very elegant and supple with some leafy hints, and fine redcurrant and spice, and a little nervousness to the fruit, with a delicate finish and some sweet acidity. Beautiful and finely wrought. 94/100
Domaine de Romarand Regnié Delta 2021 Beaujolais, France
12% alcohol. Same wine, same vinification, aged 18 months in older oak, just one barrel made. This is fine, pure and has some structure with redcurrant and cherry fruit, as well as some pepper and spice. There’s nice intensity and depth here: the elevage has helped develop some structure, and there’s some grip. Impressive. 94/100
Note on the same wine a few days earlier:
Domaine de Romarand Regnié Delta 2021 Beaujolais, France
12% alcohol. 0.62 hectare plot, cordon pruning, pink granite. Whole bunch, semi carbonic, wild ferment, aged in old oak. Fresh, linear and nicely structured with bright red and black cherry fruit, some stony minerality and a sense of freshness. But there’s depth here, too: quite silky in the mouth although there’s some structure, too. A lovely expression of Regnié. 94/100 (€9)
Domaine de Romarand Beaujolais Lantignié Mu 2022
In Greek, it’s pronounced Mi not Mu! Supple, ripe, finely grained and elegant with lovely precision to the sweet berry fruits. Lovely fine-grained structure supports the plush cherry and plum fruit, with a sense of freshness. Lovely purity and structure here with wonderful finesse allied to density. 95/100
Domaine de Romarand Beaujolais Lantignié Alpha 2022
Alpha is only the press juice, aged in the concrete egg, with no sulfites, just 10 ppm before bottling, unfiltered. Supple, fine and elegant with some grippy structure but also fresh, vibrant red cherry and plum fruit, showing nice tannins that add a lovely frame to the supple fruit. Very fine and intriguing. 95/100
Domaine de Romarand Beaujolais Lantignié Alpha 2021 France
12% alcohol. 0.74 hectare plot, blue stone soils, gobelet. 100% destemmed, wild yeasts, no sulfites until bottling, aged 8 months in concrete egg. Refined aromatics with black cherries and plums. Beautifully proportioned elegant palate with purity, some fine spicy notes, some dark undercurrents and a grainy structure supporting the sweet black cherry fruit. Has a hint of liqourice and minerals. Profound. 95/100
