Yesterday, news broke that Henry Frederic Roch, co-owner of Domaine de la Romanee-Conti (Kande) and owner of Domaine Prieure Roch, had died of cancer at the age of 56. Henry's life is legendary, as he was the nephew of Lalou Bize-Leroy, the famous iron lady of the wine world in Burgundy, and the representative of the Lehua family at the Romani Conti winery, co-owner with Aubert de Vaillain.
On the left is Aubert de Verran and on the right is Henry Frederick Houcci
1, Henry winemaking philosophy: with the most traditional and natural way to make wine
Henry's intention was not to be kande. He founded his own winery as early as 1988, the now-famous kitchen knife winery. When Ms. Lajou left Kande, the original successor was Henry's brother Charles Roch. In 1990, the owner's signature on the Kande wine label was Charles Roch, but in 1991, charles died tragically, and Henry took over the position of co-owner of Kande.
Henry's original intention was to make wine in the most traditional and natural way, pursuing purity and authentic restoration of terroir and grapes. His philosophy is in line with cistercian, the pioneer of Burgundy wine centuries ago, believing in natural and traditional methods of brewing: "Respect for nature, microorganisms and natural ecosystems is the best motivation for maintaining the vitality of the soil." In addition, coupled with the natural change of the four seasons, the land can naturally achieve extraordinary wines. ”
Henry practiced organic cultivation and did his best to control the yield of grapes, supplying nutrients to a small number of grapes, further improving the quality of grape fruits. For example, the average yield of his own winery vineyard is 1,800 liters/ha, and the average yield of the statutory grand prix of the AOC in Burgundy is 4,500 liters/ha. Henry's requirements were much stricter than that.
Henry Brewery did not like to add sulfur dioxide, preferring to let the natural yeast work, so that the terroir could show the strength and fullness of Pinot Noir. After fermentation, the wine is not separated from the puree, which not only avoids oxidation, but also enhances the body and concentration of the wine.
Because of the very traditional method of brewing, his wines usually appear rose red, ripe and pure, with very classic rose and violet aromas.
2. Kitchen knife winery: combines the style genes of the wine king Kande and the wine queen Lehua
Dating back to 1966, the Kitchen Knife Winery is famous in the Cote de Nuits region of France for its excellent quality Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines.
Originally only 2 hectares of vineyards, the winery now exceeds 14 hectares and is spread throughout the Cote d'Or appellation (mainly concentrated in Nuits-Saint-Georges), with limestone-dominated soils, with more than 2/3 of the grounds located in the Grand Cru or Premier Cru.
The vineyards are managed organically, with biodynamic methods and horses tilling the fields. Every year, the winery adopts the method of whole bunch picking and fermentation, while using the natural yeast contained in each vineyard to ferment, without temperature control, reducing the impact of man-made and technological, and completely avoiding the use of sulfur dioxide, as far as possible to express the local terroir.
Some wine friends once said that drinking the wine of the kitchen knife winery is equivalent to drinking wang Kandi and the wine after drinking at the same time. Indeed, Henry has worked in Kandi for decades and knows kandi's winemaking skills very well, in addition to the winemaking genes of the Lehua family, and the kitchen knife winery that combined the two masters can be said to be the crystallization of the top two Burgundy wineries. Gourmets who know a little about wine talk about Kande and Lehua, while the real experts talk about Kandi, Lehua and the kitchen knife winery.
3. The main wine of the kitchen knife winery
The Schoolker has 4 important vineyards, 2 of which are Grand Prix, Clos Vougeot and Clos de Beze, and 2 Maison I, one in Le Clos des Corvees and Clos Goillotte in Vonsne-Romanee. These wines are characterized by their intense aromas. The grapes are selected from the most respected regions of Burgundy, with ripe, clean Pinot Noir and the wines produce stunning aromas of peony, wild rose, violet, cinnamon or truffle.
Fukuo Grand Park
Age: 60 years
Production: 2,400 bottles
Color: Dark ruby/garnet
Aroma: Dark chocolate/licorice
Taste: relaxing fleshy forelimbs; The middle is strongly dense; Tannin grip length
Best Grade Park
Age: 40 years
Production: 3,600 bottles/year
Color: Deep ruby red/garnet red
Aroma: Blueberry, violet, black cherry, very complex
Palate: Seductive and full-bodied, creamy texture, delicate freshness and long floral aftertaste
Gao Wei monopolizes the first-class garden
Area: Night St. George
Tree age: more than 70 years
Production: 8,000 - 9,000 bottles/year
Color: Dark ruby red
Aroma: Intense crimson fruit (raisins), allspice powder
Taste: Complete skeleton, strong, concentrated, pleasant aftertaste
Chigualut monopolizes the first-class garden
Region: Vaughan-Romani
Age: 54 years
Production: 2,100 - 2,400 bottles/year
Color: Medium ruby red
Aroma: Peony rose / violet / truffle, orange peel
Palate: Pure velvet texture spreads in the mouth
Les Suchots
Age: 43 years
Production: 4,000 bottles/year
Color: Medium/dark ruby red
Aroma: elegant and vivid violet and pepper
Palate: Soft and silky, plump and refreshing, with a black cherry finish
Les Clous
Age: 31 years
Production: 2,400 bottles/year
Aroma: Strawberry jam; notes of burnt orange peel and spices
Palate: Plump and harmonious, fresh, aromatic with a violet finish
In addition to the above, the kitchen knife winery also owns hautes-Maizieres (located in vaughan-Romani village, near Susho first-class garden), Le Cloud (in the Ladoix appellation of Bernchu, where Pinot Noir and Chardonnay are grown), and Glapigny Poncet (growing Cameau) in the village of Vaughan-Romani, and Glapigny Poncet (growing Came), Glapigny Boncourt (growing Chardonnay).
4. Unique wine label
In addition to the origins and experience of Henry's owner, the most striking thing about the winery is its wine label. On the left is a vine (known as a kitchen knife winery because it resembles a kitchen knife), the yellow oval above the right represents nature, the lower oval represents human beings, and the bottom three red dots are the fruit of the grape. It means respecting nature and making wines that conform to nature, just as Henry has always upheld and practiced.