2022 Domaine des Sanzay, Saumur-Champigny Rouge “Les Poyeux” Loire Valley, France.
One of my favorite new discoveries from the Loire and Cab Franc was this beautifully authentic Domaine Sanzay Saumur-Champigny Rouge from the famed Les Poyeux cru, most notably where some of Clos Rougeard best and most highly acclaimed wines comes from, with its deep expression of mineral/earthy Franc flowing across the medium bodied palate with outstandingly pure flavors and terroir driven soulfulness. This dark purple/garnet wine has all of the right stuff going on with blackberries, wild plum, currant and cherry fruits leading the way along with crushed violets, green bell pepper, chalky stones, leather, truffle and mint herbal licorice. The old school rustic nature here is evident, but non aggressive and there is a beautiful clarity to this Saumur-Champigny that is lifting and compelling and I think it has great aging potential and certainly will be at its best with a hearty meal, this was truly impressive stuff. The all organic grapes, coming from 40 plus year old vines, set on sandy/chalky limestone, are de-stemmed and fermented in vat for 30 days, on the skins before being aged 10 months solely in concrete.
The wines of Domaine des Sanzay, as mentioned were all new to me, which makes them like hidden treasures to unveil and being a Cab Franc lover that admires the likes of Olga Raffault, the noted Clos Rougeard of course, as well as Lambert, Germain and Baudry to name a few, this was a great new find. I learned that Ditier Sanzay is the fifth generation of the Sanzay family to farm vines here in the Loire Valley. Interestingly for most of the family’s lengthy history here, they just sold their grapes to the local cooperative, as was local customs until more recently the family decided to make wines and sell them themselves. With a collection of prime sites in the limestone haven of Saumur-Champigny, including in the legendary Les Poyeux lieu-dit, as seen here. The estate uses modern mechanical harvesting and sorting machines, but still pays tribute to historic methods in the cellar. From what I gather, the winemaking, with with Didier’s son Ludovich now helping, is very traditional, using only indigenous yeast for the fermentations and using temperature-controlled vats, cement or large foudre/barrels for the elevage, with results being transparent Cabernet Francs that show fabulous sense of place, finesse and balance. This is a winery to look for and I really recommend this one!
($30 Est.) 92 Points, grapelive