2014 Domaine Vincent Ricard Cuvee Les Trois Chenes Touraine 750 ml

“Silex” in Thésée-la-Romaine: Picasso’s Apprentice

In the mid-1980s, while seated at Vacheron’s café in Sancerre, a young winemaker stormed into town on a Harley, a scene right out of “Easy Rider.” Didier Dagueneau’s strawberry-blonde hair was wild, as was his unkempt beard. Didier was a performer, one part Jerry Garcia, another Gerard Depardieu. He shook hands at every table, then pulled up a chair beside us. Our understanding of Sauvignon Blanc would never be the same.

Over the following decades, right up until the accident that tragically took Didier’s life, young winemakers made the pilgrimage to Saint-Andelain. Dagueneau was said to be generous with his advice, always carving out time for his mentees. Many came back energized, mesmerized by Dagueneau’s biodynamic rigor in the vines and new barrel treatments in the cellar. A few returned home resolved to follow in their mentor’s footsteps, walking Dagueneau’s tightrope.

In the case of one quiet, baby-faced winemaker from Thésée-la-Romaine, whose family’s estate was also strewn with St.-Andelain flint — or “silex” — Didier’s words became nothing short of a mantra. Soon after his father turned over the reins to the cellar, a 23-year-old Vincent Ricard, conjured up a brilliant Sauvignon Blanc called “Les Trois Chênes” that surely left Dagueneau grinning ear to ear. Years later, in the superb 2014 vintage in the central Loire, Vincent fashioned the most extraordinary “Trois Chênes” of his career, a Sauvignon Blanc that charmed the pants off Parisian and NYC sommeliers, outpointing all but the cream of Sancerre.

“I’ll never compare ‘Les Trois Chênes’ to Didier’s ‘Silex.’ That’s silly and presumptuous,” the understated winemaker told us over dinner in Tours. “I’m still just an apprentice.” Vincent Ricard then broke out into a warm smile. “An apprentice to Picasso!”

While 2014 is already being touted as one of the finest Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc vintages in 20 years, Ricard was fretful in early July, as the maturation process was already weeks behind. “One day it would rain. The next we’d have sun. Then more rain and more sun. Clusters were ripening unevenly, and due to the high humidity, we felt like we’d be battling mildew right up to harvest.”

But then came the glorious month of September. Days were warm and dry. For six straight weeks, the sun shined. These Indian summer conditions cleansed the vines. Natural sugars soared. The call to harvest came late, but under turquoise skies. When we asked Vincent to compare his 2014 Trois Chênes to a previous vintage, he answered confidently, “Only 2002 compares.”

The 2014 Vincent Ricard “Les Trois Chênes” is brilliant green-gold in hue. The aromas are high-toned and penetrating, featuring a mouthwatering mix of ripe pear, apple, white flowers, and anise. Rich, dense, and juicy on the attack, infused with luscious apple/pear minerality, gently kissed with sweetness. The finish is textbook “Picasso,” vibrant and bracing, arguing eloquently for a 7- to 10-year stay in the coolest of cellars.