Domaine Filliatreau, 2001 Saumur-Champigny “Vieilles Vignes”
Cab Franc du Jour ##116
Domaine Filliatreau was established in 1967 when Paul Filliatreau took over the family domaine following his father’s retirement. An admirer of the work of Charles Joguet in Chinon, Paul set about improving the cellar to elevate the quality of his wines, and the most significant of those changes was the introduction of stainless steel tanks and temperature control in the 1970s, still a relatively new development at the time. Paul’s work at the domaine and with Cabernet Franc single-handedly changed the trajectory of the Saumur-Champigny appellation, laying the foundations for what is today one of the world’s great regions for single-varietal Cabernet Franc.
Domaine Filliatreau’s 34ha of vines are planted across the communes of Dampierre-sur-Loire, Chacé, Varrains, and Turquant. The fruit for the Vieilles Vignes comes from select parcels around the historic hamlet of Chaîntres in Dampierre-sur-Loire.
Dampierre-sur-Loire Commune
Dampierre-sur-Loire is one of the six communes that hug the banks of the Loire before stretching south into the heart of the Saumur-Champigny appellation. The commune runs about 3km from north to south and around 2km from east to west. Around the hamlet of Chaîntres, vineyards sit at elevations of around 45 to 60m above sea level, and the soils are predominantly Turonian tuffeau chalk-derived.
Topsoils here tend to be relatively shallow, reaching the tuffeau chalk bedrock within 50 to 90cm of the surface, meaning the chalk’s influence is felt more directly. Clay content in the topsoil is somewhat elevated, running between 25 and 40%, which is particularly significant for Cabernet Franc on shallow soils. These conditions contribute to good drainage and moderate to good water reserves, though the lighter, shallower topsoil also means sites here can be a little less vigorous, with budbreak that is normal to slightly earlier than average. The balance between water retention and drainage plays an important role in determining the precocity of a given site, which in turn influences how sugar and phenolic ripeness develop and how they align at harvest.
The Vineyard
The Vieilles Vignes is sourced from 5 hectares of vines across four lieux-dits around Chaîntres. These vines were planted in the 1930s and 1940s, meaning they were between 60 and 70 years old at the time of the 2001 vintage. The topsoil is approximately 40 to 50cm of predominantly clay sandy-loam with a moderate amount of stoniness, over a bedrock of Middle Turonian tuffeau chalk. The lieux-dits carry mostly south-facing exposures.
In the Cellar
The fruit was hand-harvested and 100% destemmed. Fermentation takes place in stainless steel with indigenous yeast, with temperature maintained between 20 and 25C. The wine spent approximately 24 days on skins with pump-overs to keep the cap submerged and assist extraction. The finished cuvée is composed of 90% free-run wine with a small addition of around 10% press wine, and aged in stainless steel for approximately nine months before bottling.
If you have a bottle of the 2001 Vieilles Vignes, it is ready to drink and enormously pleasurable, particularly for lovers of older Loire Valley Cabernet Franc. The 2001 vintage was considered a cooler, lighter year, and this wine shows all the hallmarks of that style: lean, focused, and filigree, with lots of energy, perfume, and persistence.
Wine Details
Producer: Domaine Filliatreau
Appellation: Saumur-Champigny
Commune: Dampierre-sur-Loire
Lieux-Dits: Clos Candi, Clos Maison, Clos de Chaintres, Le Mulet
Soils: 40-50cm of clay sandy-loam atop the Middle Turonian tuffeau chalk
Alcohol: 12.5%