Guide
to the Loire regions
Côte
Roannaise
Grower
Profiles

Paul
Lapendéry & Fils
The Lapendéry domaine sits on top of its own little
slope between the villages of Ambierle and Saint-Haon. It’s one of the
most picturesque settings of anywhere along the Roannaise slope - even if
the sight evokes images of middle Italy or of a traditional bodega in La
Rioja.
The Lapendéry’s are an old Saint-Haon family, with a history of raising
cattle (a cousin still does) and as foresters. Paul Lapendéry’s father
established the domaine when he planted the first vines in the late 1920s.
The flat cap wearing, sabot shod
Paul first made wine himself in 1954. During his time as President of the Association
Vinicole Roannaise, he was responsible, in 1972, (at a time when
Robert Sérol was probably still in short trousers, but already wearing a
trilby) for submitting the first documents to the INAO for the promotion
of the Côtes Roannaise to Appellation Contrôlée status. Simultaneous to
this, he was also lobbying for a single cru system, which would, of course, have included his own
distinguished site.
There are six hectares here, and unusually, they are planted with a high
proportion of Pinot Noir. These were established by Paul in the early
1960s, and were blended with around one-third Gamay to make a local
version of Passetoutgrains. It
is also said that he would also add a few percent of Chardonnay, to help
add a little bit of refinement. Ironically, when the INAO did draw up
legislation for the appellation in the early 1990s they excluded Pinot
Noir completely, its use being confined to that of Vin de Pays d’Urfé.
Paul was said to be devastated at the decision.
The vineyards here are steep and follow the contours of the winding slope,
even when it curves round into a north facing gully, and this is one of
the rare instances where terraced vines can be encountered in the
appellation. Yields here are painfully low; just 20 to 25hl/ha in an
average year, and less in poor vintages, like 2007. The oldest vines go
back to the original plantings in the 1920s, although with the inclusion
of the hectare and a half of Pinot Noir, the average age is around 35
years. Needless to say, the grapes are all harvested by hand.
Paul Lapendéry died in 2007 and was succeeded by his son Francisque,
whose work is still closely scrutinised by Mme. Lapendéry, who looks well
into her eighties.
WINE
OVERVIEW:
The winemaking style here is the antithesis of the
wines made by the likes of Robert Sérol; unashamedly traditional with
grapes destemmed and processed in an ancient horizontal basket press.
There is no evidence of carbonic maceration or fancy thermovinification
machines here; the only concession to modern winemaking is the sight of a
couple of stainless steel tanks, used for fermentation and blending. Pigeage is manual and the wines are committed to a one year sojourn
in ancient foudres made of Tronçais
forest oak, sited in a seven metre deep, cobweb-encrusted cellar hewn out
of the granite.
THE
WINES:
There are essentially two wines produced here; a single
Côte Roannaise red and the Pinot Noir, now necessarily declassified to
Vin de Pays d’Urfé. The location of the cellar above the plain, the
contoured vineyards and the ancient rock cellar make Domaine Lapendéry a
special place to see, but sadly, the wines fall well short of the romantic
image on display – both rustic and (I suspect due to the wood) dried
out. It’s a great shame.
Francisque Lapendéry
La Roussellière
Saint-Haon-le-Vieux
T: + 33 4 77 64 43 43
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