Le Rocher des Violettes

Stéphane Cossais was a young Montlouis vigneron who acquired the original La Négrette holdings in the late 1990s and began the modern revival of these old-vine parcels of Chenin Blanc. His career was cut short by his death in 2007, and Xavier Weisskopf acquired the estate to continue the work. Weisskopf had previously trained in the Rhône Valley and brought a different background to the Loire, including the use of used Burgundy barrels for fermentation and élevage, the avoidance of malolactic fermentation, and a low-yield discipline. The estate name Le Rocher des Violettes was retained as Weisskopf's tribute to the work Cossais had begun. The transition was completed in the years immediately following 2007, and Weisskopf has built the estate's international reputation across the subsequent decade and a half.

• Stéphane Cossais acquired the original La Négrette holdings in the late 1990s and began the modern revival of these old-vine parcels
• Cossais died in 2007; Xavier Weisskopf acquired the estate to continue the work and retained the Le Rocher des Violettes name
• Weisskopf trained in the Rhône Valley and brought used Burgundy barrels, no malolactic fermentation, and a low-yield discipline
• Transition completed in the years immediately after 2007; Weisskopf has built the estate's international reputation since

The estate covers roughly thirteen hectares of old-vine Chenin Blanc in Saint-Martin-le-Beau, one of the three communes of Montlouis-sur-Loire AOC. The signature site is La Négrette, a parcel of seventy-plus-year-old Chenin Blanc planted on the appellation's classic perruches (clay with flint) topsoils overlying tuffeau limestone bedrock. The age of the vines (some planted in the 1940s) produces low natural yields and a depth and density rare in young-vine Montlouis. Additional parcels of Chenin Blanc are spread across the Saint-Martin-le-Beau commune on similar perruches and alluvial sand soils. A separate Touraine AOC project on Côt (Malbec) produces the estate's small red wine line, with the variety historically tied to the Touraine landscape and well-suited to the sand and gravel terraces of the area.

• Approximately thirteen hectares of old-vine Chenin Blanc in Saint-Martin-le-Beau (Montlouis-sur-Loire AOC)
• La Négrette: seventy-plus-year-old Chenin Blanc on perruches (clay with flint) over tuffeau bedrock; some vines planted in the 1940s
• Additional Chenin Blanc parcels across Saint-Martin-le-Beau on perruches and alluvial sand soils
• Separate Touraine AOC project on Côt (Malbec) producing the estate's small red wine line

Weisskopf farms the vineyards in an organic-leaning style without seeking certification. Manual harvest is standard across all parcels, with selective tries through botrytis-affected sites in favorable vintages. In the cellar, the approach reflects Weisskopf's Rhône training: dry Chenin Blanc is fermented in used Burgundy barrels rather than stainless steel, giving the wines textural depth and slow oxidative complexity. Malolactic fermentation is avoided across all styles to preserve Chenin Blanc's defining acidity. Indigenous yeast fermentations are standard. Élevage on the dry cuvées typically runs twelve to eighteen months in barrel before bottling, longer than is typical for Montlouis dry whites. The combination of low yields, old vines, barrel élevage, and no malolactic fermentation gives the estate's range a distinctive structural profile within Montlouis-sur-Loire.

• Organic-leaning vineyard work without certification; manual harvest standard across all parcels
• Dry Chenin Blanc fermented in used Burgundy barrels rather than stainless steel for textural depth
• Malolactic fermentation avoided across all styles; indigenous yeast fermentations are standard
• Élevage on dry cuvées typically 12 to 18 months in barrel, longer than is typical for Montlouis dry whites

The estate's range covers dry Montlouis Sec, demi-sec, and moelleux in favorable vintages, plus a traditional-method sparkling and the Touraine Côt reds. The flagship dry sec is the La Négrette cuvée from the seventy-plus-year-old parcel, bottled separately and showing the depth and density that the old vines and barrel élevage allow. The multi-parcel Touche-Mitaine cuvée draws from younger-vine parcels and is the entry-level dry expression. Demi-sec is produced in vintages with naturally elevated ripeness, and moelleux in vintages with adequate botrytis development. The Touraine Côt reds, including a multi-parcel bottling and named single-parcel cuvées, sit alongside the Montlouis whites and offer Weisskopf's Rhône-trained perspective on the Touraine red variety that has gained increasing critical attention in the past decade.

• La Négrette: flagship dry sec from the 70-plus-year-old parcel; deep, dense, with barrel-élevage texture
• Touche-Mitaine: multi-parcel entry-level dry sec from younger-vine parcels
• Demi-sec and moelleux produced in favorable vintages with adequate ripeness or botrytis
• Touraine Côt reds: multi-parcel bottling and named single-parcel cuvées; Weisskopf's Rhône-trained perspective on the variety

Le Rocher des Violettes occupies a distinctive position in modern Montlouis-sur-Loire as one of the appellation's most critically followed estates for serious dry Chenin Blanc, alongside François Chidaine and Domaine de la Taille aux Loups. The distinctive contributions are the focus on old-vine parcels (with vines from the 1940s), the Rhône-trained barrel-élevage approach, and the parallel work on Touraine Côt that gives the estate a red wine dimension absent from most Montlouis producers. Weisskopf's outsider background (Rhône Valley rather than local Loire training) has been a frequent reference point in critical writing on the estate, and the continuity with the Cossais legacy adds a layer of historical resonance to the project. The estate is widely distributed in specialist circuits in Northern Europe, North America, and Japan.

• One of Montlouis-sur-Loire's most critically followed estates for serious dry Chenin Blanc, alongside Chidaine and Taille aux Loups
• Focus on old-vine parcels (with vines from the 1940s) and Rhône-trained barrel-élevage approach
• Parallel work on Touraine Côt gives the estate a red wine dimension absent from most Montlouis producers
• Weisskopf's outsider Rhône-trained background and continuity with the Cossais legacy define the estate's identity