WTN: Why so little interest in the Romorantin grape?

Cour-Cheverny is an appellation producing white wines from the Romorantin grape. This bijou appellation is located within the broader Cheverny area which is situated in the Touraine part of the Loire basin not far south-east of the town of Blois within the Sologne forest. Whenever I see one on the shelves, I stretch for it because I find that most have a special cachet. Here is my TN on one I opened a couple of days ago.

2020 Domaine le Portail Romorantin Cour-Cheverny - France, Loire Valley, Upper Loire, Cour-Cheverny (04/11/2022)
In my limited experience, wines labelled Cour-Cheverny made from the Romorantin grape have much more class than from the wider Cheverny appellation (usually a blend mainly of SB and Chard). This one from an unfamiliar estate was true to type. It was not bone dry but had a discreet spine of fine minerals and moreish acidity which provided excellent balance together with white fruit, hints acacia and honey, a slightly creamy underlying roundness and decent length. It was already very good but will probably develop more complexity in the medium term.
Posted from CellarTracker

The only wine which I have drunk from Romorantin but not from Cour-Cheverny is Provignage from Henry Marionnet. This also comes from nearby in Touraine but from outside the Cour-Cheverny appellation area. I have drunk it once (2006 in 2009) and I thought it excellent Here is an extract from the Marionnet site about the origins of the grape -

“Provignage
Pre-phylloxera vines planted in 1850 according to verbal evidence.
The Romorantin grape variety was introduced into our region by King François I in 1519. He had 80,000 vines brought from Burgundy to be planted around Romorantin. The king was planning to construct a great château there but he finally built it at Chambord. Experts have confirmed the great age of these vines, which have not been grafted since phylloxera only appeared in France after 1870. It is a very complex and absolutely exceptional “vin de garde”. It represents a page of our history and forms part of the heritage of our country.” (My loose translation).

The soils in the Cour-Cheverny region are "sandy-clayey, sandy-siliceous and clay-limestone" (Google translation) and the climate is distantly oceanic influenced by the Sologne forest. These conditions may be difficult to reproduce exactly elsewhere but adequate approximation may be possible.

Has nobody thought of planting this grape in other regions or countries? TomHill?

Well, Tim... the reason there is so little interest in Romaratin is that they're pretty rare. You hardly ever see them on the shelves. Like you, I grab one whenever I see one. The few I've tried I liked quite a bit.
To my knowledge, Romarantin has not been planted in the USofA. I don't think is available from FPS but I will check.
A lot of the new grapes that were brought in over the last 5 yrs or so came thru BryanHarrington. But he never explored the LoireVlly.
Tom

[Jenise]

Tim, I'm a fan! But as Tom says, they're VERY rare. The one retailer I used to be able to count on to stock them annually is no more.

All very interesting so thanks. No sign of Romaratin here in AB.

I have had Romorantin from Cour-Cheveny, and The Wine Society (from whom I probably purchased them) currently list two, a dry and a sweet both from Domaine Cazin.

The examples I had were dry, and as far as I recall, not unpleasant but not something I returned to.

According to Wine Grapes the variety "is difficult to ripen", which might explain why acreage in The Loire has been dropping (73ha/180 acres).

The barriers to growing it outside France - e.g. the USA are high. An interested vineyard would have to get cuttings sent to a US quarantine facility and pay for the quarantine, then afterwards get a nursery to propagate and graft them, then plant them and wait for 3-4 years before making wine - so looking at 10 years lead time, then encourage the public to buy this unknown variety.

The passage quoted is incorrect. Phylloxera appeared in France before 1870 and was causing so much damage that it was in 1870 the French government offered a 30,000 Franc prize for a cure.

The reason why the vines mentioned that were planted in 1870 were not grafted was that grafting wasn't selected as the best solution till 1881. (There were other solutions found but they're either not practical or considered undesirable)

All very interesting so thanks. No sign of Romaratin here in AB.

Out of curiosity, I just did a search. The nearest Cour-Cheverny in Canada is at SAQ, which has some from the respected Domaine Huard. I guess that is of no use for Alberta. For Provignage, it seems that you would have to cross the frontier as far as Berkeley, where a case of 3 costs $345 .

The sandy soil explains why they can use ungrafted vines. Phylloxera aphids don't like sandy soil.

-Paul W.

My Romorantin experience is almost all Francois Cazin, but I like them a lot. I generally find that people guess Chenin if blind,and I find lots of similarities. But I could see how a grape from a tiny appellation of own footed plants might not be considered a great candidate for experimentation/.

Tim,
I checked and Romarantin is NOT available in the US from FPS.
Nor is it available at Cornell.
Tom