Tasted in Regnié with Frédéric Sornin and son Victor, 08 February 2018.
Domaine des Ronzes
les Ronzes
69430 Régnié Durette
Tel: +33 6 11 48 54 41
Frédéric on 2017:
“2017 – again we had the hail – it was completely great until that we lost 50%. In 2016 the hail came very early but the grapes came through – in bio I’ve a lot of demand and I’ve grown a little with another hectare in fermage which was in bio before – I’ve another hectare in Lantignié which wasn’t in bio before which I’ll replant to do a bio white. So, anyway it was about half a harvest, but it was a very good harvest – a small harvest of good quality.
“I grow every year in surface, but have no more wine!”
Frédéric on 2016:
“2016 was also about half a harvest due to hail – it seems these days it just a question of when the hail arrives in the growing season rather than if! It’s important in these times to have insurance – I took my son to Fleurie so he could see what a total loss looked like and he took photos – I hope he won’t forget… Of-course it’s practically impossible to replace the grapes with those that come from bio… What we harvested looked good, I also planted some new vines in Morgon, and I pulled out some vines to replant with 2 metre gaps so I can plough and work in my usual organic way.”
The wines…
As usual, there’s not much to taste as it’s virtually all sold out! A thoughtful winemaker who also makes great wines.
2017 Beaujolais Villages Primeur, Vin Biologique et Naturel – Domaine Victor Sornin
Nicely open, with pure and focused fruit – very attractive. Freshness cut with a silky texture and really a fine depth of flavour – a little sourness to the fruit but it’s an attractive sweet-sour combination that works very well. Pure is a word that keeps popping into my mind.
2016 Frédéric Sornin, Régnié
Just a little tighter nose but with more focus and finer points of complexity. Round, beautifully textured before the tannin slowly starts to rise. Freshness, openness, really a fine width of elegant flavour – delicious, mouth-watering with a fine depth and length of flavour. Excellent.
Son Victor’s name on the ‘natural’ wines. A parcel of Beaujolais Villages at the bottom of Lantignié – have a second parcel too but that won’t make the first wine before next year. Most seems to head to the US from this cuvée.
The first sniff is quite tight, the second full of vibrant fruit, the third tighter again. Hmm – fresh and mineral, wide, fine and absolutely delicious, not an obvious Beaujolais blanc and long. Not the typical concentrated, wide-shouldered Beaujolais blanc – this is narrower, more direct – I love!