Arnaud Lambert, 2019 Saumur-Champigny "Terres Rouges"
Cab Franc du Jour #56
Domaine Arnaud Lambert is the amalgamation of two properties: Domaine Saint-Just in Saint-Cyr-en-Bourg, established by Arnaud’s father Yves Lambert in 1996, and the vineyards of Château de Brézé in Saumur, which the Lambert family took over in 2009. Combined, the estate farms 40 hectares of certified organic vineyards. In Saumur-Champigny, Arnaud holds parcels in two communes: Saint-Cyr-en-Bourg in the southern part of the appellation and Montsoreau in the far northeast, hugging the Loire River.
A couple of details about Saumur-Champigny worth noting. The appellation was established in 1957 and falls within the Anjou-Saumur sub-region of the Loire Valley, whereas Chinon, Bourgueil, and St-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil belong to the Touraine sub-region. Saumur-Champigny is also a red wine-only appellation: rosé from Cabernet Franc and whites from Chenin fall under the broader Saumur AOP.
The Vineyard
Terres Rouges comes from a 2-hectare parcel of 45-year-old vines in the lieu-dit Le Bois de la Roche in the commune of Saint-Cyr-en-Bourg, the southernmost commune in the appellation, about 6km south of the Loire River. The parcel sits on a gentle west-facing slope, capturing more of the afternoon sunshine, with a considerable forested area to the east and northeast that likely provides some shelter from the cooler winds arriving from those directions.
The soil profile is a sandy-silt-clay mix to a depth of around 60cm, followed by roughly 30cm of sandy-silt subsoil before reaching the tuffeau bedrock, giving a total depth of less than a metre before the chalk is encountered. The bedrock here is the Middle Turonian tuffeau chalk, but with a distinctive local character worth noting: in this part of Saint-Cyr-en-Bourg, the chalk is a glauconitic micaceous chalk with a higher iron content that gives it a slight greenish tinge when weathered. It is known locally as craie verte.
In the Cellar
Arnaud’s approach is dynamic and vineyard-led, with the character of each site informing his decisions in the cellar. For Terres Rouges, he takes a notably gentle approach. The entire cuvée is fermented in concrete with indigenous yeast. Two-thirds of the wine spends approximately 10 days on skins, with pump-overs twice daily for the first three days and once daily for the remainder. The final third is macerated purely by infusion for approximately three weeks. Aging takes place in concrete for around six to eight months before bottling.
Wine Details
Producer: Arnaud Lambert
Appellation: Saumur-Champigny
Commune: Saint-Cyr-en-Bourg
Lieu-Dit: Le bois de la roche
Soil: sand-silt-clay topsoil, sand-silt sub-soil, glauconitic micaceous chalk bedrock (craie verte)
Alcohol: 13%