Domaine des Roches Neuves, 2017 Saumur-Champigny "Franc de Pied"
Cab Franc du Jour #9
Domaine des Roches Neuves was established by Thierry Germain in 1992, who settled in the Loire Valley from his native Bordeaux. The domaine has around 30 hectares across Saumur-Champigny planted predominantly with Cabernet Franc and a little Chenin Blanc. When Thierry arrived in the Loire Valley, he was immediately taken under the wing of Charly Foucault of Clos Rougeard, and that mentorship truly set the stage for where Domaine des Roches Neuves is today. All of the vines are farmed biodynamically, and that philosophy extends into the cellar as well.
The term “Franc de Pied” means that these Cabernet Franc vines are ungrafted and growing on their own rootstocks. This is a genuine rarity, not only in Europe but around the world. When phylloxera swept through Europe in the late 1800s it destroyed the vast majority of vines, and today almost all vinifera vines are grafted onto American rootstocks as a result. For ungrafted vines to survive, very specific soil conditions are required.
In this case the vineyard is located in the commune of Saumur and sits on the Turonian tuffeau limestone subsoil found throughout the Saumur-Champigny region, but crucially there are approximately six metres of sandy topsoil above it. Phylloxera does not survive well in sand, and it is that deep sandy layer that allows these vines to remain ungrafted. The vineyard itself is around 1.2 hectares, with vines of approximately 15 years of age.
The nose is immediately perfumed, lifted, and aromatic, bursting with red cherry notes alongside a beautiful woodsy, foresty quality. The pyrazines are dialled well back, presenting more as a thyme leaf or lightly minty note than anything green or aggressive, giving the whole aromatic profile a bright, lifted character. On the palate the wine is seamless and graceful in a way that is genuinely hard to put into words. The tannins are so fine, almost silky, and on the finish there is almost a cashmere-like quality to them. This wine has real life and elegance to it, very much finesse-driven, with that beautiful aromatic profile carrying through to the palate and framed by lively acidity and that silky, refined texture. It is really quite spectacular.
Wine Details
Producer: Domaine des Roches Neuves (Thierry Germain)
Appellation: Saumur-Champigny
Commune: Saumur
Soils: 6m of sandy topsoil over the tuffeau limestone bedrock
Alcohol: 12.5%