Wine Advisor
Clos Rougeard, Saumur Champigny Le Clos 2005
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Neal Martin
The 2005 Saumur-Champigny Le Clos has a vivacious nose of strawberry pastille, redcurrant and light cassis scents, touches of iodine and peppermint loitering in the wings. It boasts fine delineation and remains youthful after 20 years. The palate is well balanced with excellent precision, just a touch of cedar and tobacco interlacing the red fruit as it sashays to a very elegant finish. Beautiful. Tasted blind at the "five" dinner at Domaine de Chevalier.
About the Producer
This humble estate located in the heart of the Saumur-Champigny appellation has garnered a cult like following for its texturally enticing, elegant, and understated Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc wines. The Foucault brothers, Nadi and his late brother Charlie, took over the family vineyards in 1969, and are the eighth generation in their family to run this 17th Century estate. They are considered the pioneers of organic and biodynamic viticulture in their region, producing Cabernet Francs of incredible concentration and length that are on par with many left bank Bordeaux château. Le Bourg, which is their top cuvée, is a small one hectare plot with vines almost 80 years in age, producing shockingly low yields of 15 hl/ha that lower than most of the top Burgundian producers. The equally rare Chenin Blanc named Brèze, is quite simply put, the pinnacle of Chenin in Loire coming from a tiny one hectare plot of 40-50 year old vines. These are incredibly pure, lean whites with great power and intensity, as well as excellent freshness.
