2018 Clos Rougeard, Saumur-Champigny Rouge, Loire Valley, France.
The young and medium bodied 2018 Clos Rougeard Saumur-Champigny Rouge, 100% Cabernet Franc, starts with an earthy and red fruited nose and its garnet and ruby edged hue in the glass with a palate of red currant, blackberry, dusty cherry and tangy plum fruits, along with hints of anise, leather, wild mushroom, bell pepper and violet flowers. This wine, known as “Le Clos” is made from 15 separate organic clayey-limestone plots in Saumur-Chapigny area of the Loire Valley, which the winery says, preserves the natural crisp purity fruit of the Cabernet Franc grapes and expresses the often delicate and spicy floral notes, as seen here on Clos Rougeard’s gorgeous 2018 vintage. One of the first cult natural wines, the legendary Clos Rougeard, producers of unicorn bottlings of Cab Franc and Chenin Blanc, are not often seen out in the world, so it was a thill to try this bottle recently. It’s a rare occasion to try these highly coveted wines and this was perfect chance to make notes of a current vintage and savor it at my own pace. At Clos Rougeard, the wines evolve and refine over time, as they themselves say, they are best after many years in the cellar, though this 2018 was already showing fabulously well. The finesse and depth here are the results of minimum intervention in cellar, and two full years‘ barrel aging and several years’ bottle aging in the Foucault’s tuffeau stone cellars, seven meters below ground.
The famous Clos Rougeard, pioneers in natural winemaking in the Saumur area and totally organic for close to eight generations, produces some of the world’s greatest Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc in Saumur-Champigny, near the village of Chacé in the Loire Valley. The estate was taken over by brothers Bernard (better known as “Nady”) and the late Charly Foucault in 1969, even though it has been in family hands since 1894. As well documented over the last 20 to 30 years, Clos Rougeard has a cult producer, and collector item for the true enthusiast set, because of the high quality and extremely limited nature of the wines. Clos Rougeard makes around 2500 cases annually, and if you get any, you are very lucky indeed, especially the Brézé (Chenin) and the single cru Francs, led by the Les Poyeux, a wine to rival first growths and Burgundy Grand Crus and the Le Bourg, which the winery feels is the ripest and fleshier of the two. Staying true to their passion, Clos Rougeard has not used chemicals in the vineyard for over a hundred years now. Over the last 20 years I’ve been able to experience Clos Rougeard a handful of times and I’m always blown away with the depth and complexity of the wines, though there was a gap between the last time and this bottle of Saumur-Champigny Rouge, which allowed me to look and sample it from a new perspective, but with no less sense awe, these are iconic Loire Valley wines that should be on your bucket list. The loss of Charly a few years ago now, had been a huge shock to fans of Clos Rougeard, but the wines are still as rewarding and age worthy as ever.
($179 Est.) 95 Points, grapelive