Domaine Vaquer was started by Fernand Vaquer in 1912 but it wasn't until 1968 that his son, also Fernand, bottled their first wine, which was not common in the area; more typically grapes were sold to the local cooperative, never known for the best quality wines.
In 1985, Fernand II's son, Bernard, met his wife, Frederique, while they were both studying oenology in Dijon. They took over the Vaquer estate in 1991, and Bernard sadly passed away in 2001. Frederique, a native of Burgundy, has been running things herself since then. While my first instinct was to ascribe the very elegant, finessed profile of the estate to her Burgundian roots, she points out that the Vaquer wines had these qualities before she arrived. The 1985 is a beautiful example of a wine made with exacting care and aged in ideal conditions. There are plenty of clichés that apply here: hidden gem, diamond in the rough, etc. They happen to be very true.
We were all quite moved by the 1985, but the more recent releases from Frederique are impressive in their own right. The ability to taste them side by side is a geeky but incredibly fun exercise I hope I get to discuss with people in the shop soon!
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