Saint Romain degustation

We tried to book a few tastings before we’d arrived in Saint Romain, but we’d learnt that most of the producers are very low in stocks. The frosts of recent years have left a number of them with limited bottles, certainly not enough to be able to offer tastings. We had managed though to book a couple for the afternoon, so decided to just take a wander around the village in the morning to see if we could knock on some doors and chance being able to take a degustation.

It was a very hot day, so nothing was happening very fast, but we did manage to get a tasting at a place not on our list. We also had a very enjoyable conversation, happily practicing our french.

Saint Romain produces white (Chardonnay) and red wines (Pinot Noir), and over the course of the day we got to try both from a number of years, and some pretty exceptional wines at that.

The two tastings we had booked in the afternoon did not disappoint us, first of all we visited Rapet, who are a husband and wife team. They make some superb wines together and have a beautiful setting looking down over the valley. We then went to Domaine Germain, which was a bit of a walk back into the village, then up a pretty steep hill. It was quite a trek in the early afternoon heat, and being invited into the coolness of their cellar when we finally got there was a welcome relief. It was a delightful tasting, but again they had very limited stocks.

Having the opportunity to taste wines at the producers is always a valued experience, it really gives a sense of place, and allows us to chose what we would like to buy. We are definitely looking forward to enjoying our purchases with some delicious meals in the months and years to come.