DOMAINE des ROCHES NEUVES SAUMUR CHAMPIGNY TERRES CHAUDES 2023

The 50-hectare Domaine des Roches Neuves is run by Bordelais Thierry Germain who is regarded as one of the most respected producers in the Loire Valley and is an avowed practitioner of organic and biodynamic viticulture where from his estate near the town of Saumur he makes some of the most expressive Cabernet Franc red wines in the region.

Harvesting at the domaine is all manual and vinification is done in small batches with optimally ripe grapes which leads to wines with plump and generous Cabernet Franc fruit flavours. Wines are bottled unfiltered and unfined. His painstaking attention to detail and quality has earned Thierry an enviable reputation around the world especially with Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc obsessives.

Biodynamic. Previously a blend of two terroirs, Terres Chaudes now hails exclusively from the Poyeux terroir in Chaintres, near the heart of the appellation (an area made famous by the Clos Rougeard bottling). The vines for this cuvée are about 50 years old on average and come from the slope, where the topsoil is very shallow before the roots hit the limestone bedrock. All the fruit is destemmed and ferments in cement (with some foot stomping), followed by maturation in 60-hectolitre, neutral wooden vats. Although it’s a refined and silky wine, you can't miss the powerful imprint of Poyeux’s ripe berry, spice and mineral-charged fruit. Look out for fresh plum, iodine, cinnamon/pepper notes and a texture that dances between juicy seduction and tangy, powdery limestone-derived freshness. Just a wonderful, character-rich French red for the dollars.