Domaine des Roches Neuves, 2015 Saumur-Champigny “Les Mémoires”
Cab Franc du Jour #99
Thierry Germain of Domaine des Roches Neuves is one of the elite vignerons of Saumur-Champigny. Biodynamics and the physical and spiritual relationship between the vine, the earth, the sun, and the human being are at the cornerstone of his approach. He brings meticulous and deeply attentive care to both vineyard and cellar, and time spent with him leaves you with the clear impression that he knows each individual vine on the domaine with genuine intimacy. Among his range of cuvées parcellaires, each designed to communicate a specific terroir through the finished wine, Les Mémoires stands apart as perhaps the most singular and precious in the lineup.
The parcels for Les Mémoires, along with those for the Clos de l’Echelier, were both acquired by Thierry in 2012. The two vineyards sit a stone’s throw from one another in the commune of Dampierre-sur-Loire in Saumur-Champigny, and while they represent the upper echelon of his Cabernet Franc range, they offer a yin-and-yang experience in the glass, their terroirs being as different from one another as their physical proximity might suggest they wouldn’t be.
The Commune of Dampierre-sur-Loire
The topography of Dampierre-sur-Loire is quite varied, giving rise to a wide range of exposures and soil types across the commune. In the northern and northeastern parts, as well as the southwestern corner where the commune borders Varrains, vineyards sit at around 45 to 60m above sea level over bedrock of Upper or Middle Turonian tuffeau chalk, with varying topsoils depending on the site. In the central and southern parts of the commune, vineyards rise to roughly 65 to 90m above sea level, where the soils date to the Senonian age and the Eocene epoch.
These later soils are less frequently discussed in the context of Saumur-Champigny than the tuffeau chalk terroirs, but they are worth understanding, particularly for estates like Roches Neuves that take the time to create cuvées parcellaires from them. From the Senonian age we find sands, clayey sands, and sandy clays mixed with quartz, sandstone, and flint, typically deeper soils with sandy-clay or gravelly subsoils before the chalk bedrock. From the Eocene epoch, two broad groups appear: Lutetian-age lacustrine limestone, shallow in profile with variable subsoil, more notably present in the neighbouring commune of Souzay-Champigny around the hamlet of Champigny; and Bartonian-age deeper clayey-sands and silty-sands, ranging in colour from grey and white to red depending on the parcel, mixed with flint, limestone, or sandstone, and underlain by sandy-clay or gravelly subsoils.
These distinctions matter because each soil type influences water access, drainage, vigour, yield potential, and the timing of budbreak and ripening, all of which ultimately shape phenolic and sugar development in the grapes.
Les Mémoires - The Vineyard
The clos for Les Mémoires covers about 0.8 hectares, located toward the northern end of the commune, about 600m from the Loire River, on a plateau sitting at around 85m above sea level. The site is almost entirely surrounded by forest, which creates a slightly warmer microclimate and also enhances the biodiversity of the vineyard. The high percentage of stones in the soil, ranging from 50 to 100%, contributes further to that warmth.
Despite being in the northern part of the commune, the higher elevation means the soils here are of Bartonian age rather than tuffeau. The profile is a silty-sandy topsoil with a vein of flint or silex running through it, transitioning at around 70cm into a sandy-clay subsoil before reaching the chalk plateau below.
The vines were planted in 1904, meaning they were approximately 111 years old at the time of the 2015 vintage. Because of the depth and slightly sandier texture of the soils in parts of the clos, some of the vines grow on their own roots. Before Thierry acquired the vineyard in 2012, it had been carefully tended for a long time by a vigneron who sold the fruit to the local cooperative. These vines are believed to be among the oldest of any variety in the entire Loire Valley.
In recognition of that extraordinary heritage, Thierry takes cuttings from the finest plants at Les Mémoires, along with selections from other vineyards, to establish new vines by massale selection in what he calls his conservatoire de cabernet. Whenever vines need replacing or a new vineyard is being established at the domaine, cuttings from this living conservatory provide the material, carrying the legacy of these ancient plants forward into new plantings.
In the Cellar
The fruit is hand-harvested and fully destemmed. Fermentation takes place in concrete vats with indigenous yeast, with maceration by infusion and a very gentle wetting of the cap from time to time to maintain a healthy environment for the yeast. Total skin contact runs approximately 15 to 18 days. Thierry is deliberate in matching the aging vessel to the energy of the vineyard site, preferring round vessels for deeper soils with higher clay content, and oval vessels where soils are shallower with greater tuffeau influence. For Les Mémoires, the wine is aged in round foudres for approximately 12 months.
Wine Details
Producer: Domaine des Roches Neuves (Thierry Germain)
Appellation: Saumur-Champigny
Commune: Dampierre-sur-Loire
Lieu-Dit: La Folie
Soil: Silty-sand topsoil, sandy-clay subsoil, 50-100% stones (flint/silex)
Alcohol: 13%