The wines of Thierry Germain

[Jenise]

A question came up in wine conversation the other day which was, what wine do you love an awful lot but never seem to own enough of? In my case there's more than one answer to that question, but top of the list would be Loire Cab Francs. So I did a little looking around and between a few notes here and on CT, decided that I need to try the wines of Thierry Germain and I ordered four, one each of four different bottlings from '20 and '21.

I just put them in the cellar and am wondering why in some cases the wines are under Thierry's name and some are Domaine des Roches Neuves. Anyone got the backstory?

[David M. Bueker]

Hoping Rahsaan can weigh in on this one.

Hoping Rahsaan can weigh in on this one.

No idea! Sometimes it's the difference between negociant and domaine grapes. Other times it's just irregular labeling practices.

The highly reputed wines in Thierry Germain's range come from his estate under the name Domaine des Roches Neuves. The wines under his own name represent his négociant activity. I don't think he would allow his name to appear on any bottle with which he is not fully satisfied, so you can go ahead with confidence, I believe.

One can hardly do better in Anjou than Thierry Germain. When he arrived from Bordeaux in the 90s, many of his reds suffered from big oak which took a long time to integrate but from the 00s he has refined his style considerably. The top of his range now costs close to €50/bottle, which is very expensive for the Loire. They will also benefit from some age. I am still sitting on some of his Cuvée Marginale 2005, which should be something special by now.

When I was living in Belgium, I used to come across him at tastings. He is a very approachable and enthusiastic person and generous in his praise for other vignerons in his area when he thinks they deserve it.

[David M. Bueker]

Excellent information Tim.

[Jenise]

Thanks, Tim, very helpful. So mine are all domaines: a Marginale, a L'Insolite, a Clos de L'Echelier and a les Memoires for which I paid $36, $24, $40 and $45 respectively. Kermit Lynch's prices on those wines are $69, $48, $76 and $80!!!

What really drew me in was the description of Thierry from Kermit Lynch's site that "Thierry relocated to the Loire from Bordeaux in the early 1990s, and soon fell under the influence of his spiritual father, Charly Foucault of Clos Rougeard." I have never had a Rougeard and most likely never will, so these, especially at the prices I paid, are kind of a cheap substitute.