Chateau Romer

The history of Chateau Romer and its neighbor Chateau Romer du Hayot can be traced back to a common origin, at least as far back as the 17^th century. During that time it was in the hands of the Montalier family, who may be the one created the estate.

By 1800 it was the property of the Lur-Saluces empire, when Marie-Therese Gabrielle de Montalier married to Ferdinand Auguste de Lur-Saluces. The estate was passed to their daughter Louis Alexandrine, and then to her husband Comte Auguste de la Myre-Mory.

Under the tenure of the Myre-Mory family the estate got classified as a deuxieme cru in the 1855 classification, the only wine in the commune of Fargues being ranked. After the death of the Comtesse in 1811 the estate was passed to the heirs, and because of the Napoleonic laws it was divided into five sections, with the estate inherited by Comtesse Beaurepaire-Louvagny.

In 1911 the proprietors sold a 5 hectare rump to Roger Farges, giving birth to Chateau Romer, and the larger portion of 9 hectares was held back to become Chateau Romer du Hayot. In 1975 when the autoroute A62 was constructed the estate had to be demolished, with Andre du Hayot, owner of Chateau Romer du Hayot, moving to another estate he owned in Barsac.

For the Farges family, they chose to turn the farming of their land to Andre du Hayot, as a result having Chateau Romer disappeared. So in the period of 1980 to 1990 many wine texts often failed to mention Chateau Romer. Chateau Romer was reborn in 2002 when Anne Farges took more control after the death of Andre du Hayot. Now the estate was being put on sale, and a potential buyer is Bernard Magrez. But the SAFER intervened in favor of Francois Janoueix, an established businessman already owning a number of domaines in the right bank.

The vineyards are situated in the commune of Fargues, with trees forming protective regiments around the estate. There are 6.5 hectares of land of which 3.5 hectares are currently planted, making it one of the smallest of all the classified growths in Barsac and Sauternes still in production, behind Doisy-Dubroca. The soils are gravel and clay, with deeper limestone bedrock. The varietal mix has 90% Semillon, 5% Sauvignon Blanc and 5% Muscadelle. Under Anne the vinification is done in oak barrels, with the wine rested for 12 to 18 months before bottling.

I have recently tasted the 2007 vintage and below is my tasting note:

Appearance

Bright and clear, this wine is of medium gold color, with legs.

Nose

Clean, the nose shows medium intensity aromas of citrus fruit such as lemon peel and orange marmalade, stone fruit of apricot, maturity notes of honey, floral notes of honeysuckle, oak notes of butterscotch. The wine is developing.

Palate

Sweet with medium (+) acidity, the wine has medium alcohol and is of full body with medium intensity flavors of stone fruit of apricot, dried fruit of sultana, maturity notes of honey, floral notes of honeysuckle, tropical fruit of melon, oak notes of vanilla. The wine has a medium finish.

Conclusion

Good quality Sauternes though the nose is less intense than one would expect, showing reasonable complexity. The wine has a good balance with the acidity and sweetness in harmony. Reasonably concentrated and complex on the palate, however it also has a shorter than expected finish. Ready to drink now though can benefit from further ageing of another 6-8 years.