Domaine Laroche*
Fine Wine Folio, Volume 9 Number 8
Bob Thompson
Every year Michel Laroche brings together friends of his family's winery to make a ceremonial bit of wine in the spirit of the 1284s, or 1375s. They use a 13th-century wine press in the 9th century stone confines of the Obédiencerie, a surviving fragment of a monastery at the heart of the town of Chablis.
The real production – like most in the appellation – is pure 20th century when it comes to equipment: stainless steel fermenting and aging tanks augmented by oak barrels for the Premiers and Grands Crus, all housed in a workaday, warehouse-like building in the outskirts.
However, the ceremonial dollop says something about Laroche's attitude toward the old verities. Michel is the fifth generation of his family to make wine in Chablis. He and his father, Henri, built the current domain from very small beginnings, starting in 1967. Like many other current producers, they took the leap after modern frost protection methods made winemaking economically viable in the region.
Domaine Laroche covers 252 acres. Of that total, 163 acres are Chablis, 67 Premiers Crus (Vaudevey, Vaillons, Fourchaume), and 15 Grands Crus (Blanchot, Les Clos). The properties are farmed according to the principles of biodynamie, the French approach to organic.
The wines are among the silkiest of all Chablis. Laroche seeks polish mainly through extra ripeness in the grapes, gentle pressing, cool fermentation and, when the year suggests it, malolactic fermentation.
Silky does not mean small. Both of his Grands Crus are legendary agers, with the Blanchots holding perhaps a small edge. Even Vaudevey, the gentlest of his Premiers Crus, will last for 10 years in excellent vintages. The domaine Chablis simple is called St.-Martin after the order of monks who built the Obédiencerie, and St.-Martin himself, patron saint of Chablis.
Wines from the family's own vines are labeled Domaine Laroche. Those from purchased grapes are usually labeled Henri Laroche, or just Laroche.
* This article has been reprinted with the permission of Fine Wine Folio. Hyperlinks have been provided and certain sections have been highlighted by our webmaster for your convenience.
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