Loire Valley Powerhouse in The Making: Vanguard Producers Transform Saumur Wines into Soulfully Complex and Savory Reds and Whites, Expressive of Their Individual Terroir with Innate Freshness. 8-Bottle (5-Red & 3-White) Package $299

One of the most rewarding part of our wine journey at Elie’s is highlighting old names with new faces. Saumur, long a source for easy-drinking wines and uninterested in moving the complexity needle too far, has finally awoken to smell not the coffee, but the limestone. A new breed of talented young vignerons has seized Saumur’s hidden potential and are proving that the region is capable of much greater things that history has dictated. Long grouped together (rather clumsily) with Anjou and overshadowed by Savennières and Vouvray whites and Bourgueil and Chinon reds, Saumur has reared up to become a powerhouse in its own right.

Saumur: Loire Valley’s Heartland

The story of terroir is first carved into stone, and in Saumur—as in Champagne and Chablis—its foundation is a peculiar geological phenomenon known as the Paris Basin. Surrounded by high-ground massifs, the basin formed following the withdrawal of an inland sea that covered much of central France 70 million years ago. A drive through the region shows an elemental shift in landscape, even from its neighbor Anjou. Today, Saumur’s alternating beds of limestone, sand and clay have combined with a nouveau drive to improve cellar work, including barrel fermentations with modest lees-stirring.

Meanwhile, the region has successfully organized itself into quality tiers like Burgundy, likewise recognizing the benefits in exploiting parcels and lieux-dits. Combined with a warming climate which has left Saumur with conditions not unlike Northern Rhône, Saumur wines are a new force with which the world of viniculture is reckoning. Modern Saumur has become not only a vinous titan, but in terms of quality, an affordable alternative to increasingly-expensive Burgundy.

Saumur Progresses: New Wave Vignerons

The changes that have allowed Saumur to sidle gracefully into the modern world of winemaking is, of course, the result of a new generation recognizing that the region has long rested on its laurels and that the potential beneath the soil was capable of much, much more. Unlike the acidic soils of Anjou, to whom Saumur is linked via maps but not geology, the terroir of Saumur is built on limestone.

Chenin, for example, (known in Saumur as Pineau de la Loire) find the loose, gravelly soils close to the banks of the Loire and tuffeau rich soils further up to be an ideal stage to unfold its wings; Saumur Chenins are dry, mineral-drive and finely-etched with expression.

Although Saumur’s dominant red grape is Cabernet Franc, wine growers have taken cues from Burgundy more than from Cab Franc’s ancestral home in Bordeaux. In fact, Sébastien Bobinet (whose Saumurois roots go back centuries) maintains that there are two paths for Cabernet Franc: “The first is Bordeaux-like—intense extraction and long cellar aging. The second is more Burgundian in style; less extraction and less cellar time with a nod toward early drinkability without sacrificing age-worthiness.”

Rising appellation stars who have opted to follow the latter path are featured in our wine package: Théo Blet—a talented young man who took his family’s storied terroirs and became a winemaker rather than a vine grower, organically-focused Guillaume Reynouard; twins Guillaume and Adrien Pire, who grew up in Madagascar and bring to the Loire degrees in agronomy and viticulture and Sylvie Augereau, whose background is communication and whose passion is communicating through wine.

Varietal Revival: The Ascendancy of Chenin & Cabernet Franc

If ever a grape variety deserves the Chameleon Award, it’s Chenin in the Loire. Its sheer versatility makes it surprising that American palates have tended to champion somewhat one-dimensional (if beautifully structured) Sauvignon Blancs from Pouilly-Fumé and Sancerre, and laud the briny, if simple Muscadet as a go-to shellfish accompaniment, while most would be hard pressed to name a Chenin from the Loire beyond Vouvray. And yet, with relative ease, Chenin makes outstanding wines that are dry, sweet, sparkling and every nuanced shade between.

Over the past couple of decades the grape has risen to prominence in the relatively small region of Saumur, where beyond magnificent dry Chenin, a unique sparkling style is often made from a blend of Chenin, Chardonnay and Cabernet Franc.

As for reds, grape vines are the canary in the coal mine. Particularly sensitive to temperature and rainfall flux—hence the clichéd ‘good vintage’ vs. ‘poor vintage’—vines are among the most effective agricultural tools we have to gauge the effect that climate change is having on cash crops. Cab Franc is a naturally late-ripening variety that thrives in warming regions like Saumur, where longer hang times eliminates any weediness and allow the Saumurois to consistently produce wines that display a classically ethereal interplay of fruit, minerals and herbs.

Domaine Théo Blet

When you live at the confluence of two limestone rivers—one made of pliably-soft tuffeau and the other of hard Jurassic stone from the Paris basin—you can afford to be a minimalist. Thus, Théo Blet works his 40 acres of prime Saumur vineland with a nod toward the simplest search for expression: His fruit is harvested by hand, fermentations start spontaneously and the wines are aged in third and fourth-fill 400-liter French oak barrels.

“I was born into a family deeply rooted in the viticulture of Saumur, representing the fourth generation entrusted with the stewardship of these vineyards,” he points out. “I have been guided by the wisdoms of my grandfather (who inherited the vines from his in-laws) and my father, who continued the legacy and started the process of converting to organic farming.”

Théo Blet

Blet’s own legacy is sealed in his decision to isolate the best grapes he grows and bottle them under his own name rather than follow in the footsteps of his forebears, who sold their produce to the local cooperative. When terroir is placed under a microscope, identifying the best parcels of vines—those capable of producing the highest quality wine—is part of a global trend which has symbolized the Burgundian ‘lieu-dit’ ethic for centuries. Blet found that his two most iconic properties were La Peyanne and Les Fabureaux (from which ‘le Corbin’ originates).Peyanne is a parcel of Chenin planted on a slight rise of land oriented north and south while Fabureaux is planted with Cabernet Franc on sandier clay-limestone soils with a gentle south-facing slope.

“Wine from these lieux-dits are drawn from slightly over one hectare [2.5 acres] and produce only a few thousand bottles each. I still sell the rest of our fruit to the local co-op. I would have no issue expanding my line of lieu-dit wines, but only if I can grow fruit that matches the quality of La Peyanne and Les Fabureaux.”

 1  Domaine Théo Blet ‘Le Corbin’, 2022 Saumur Rouge ($38)
After fermentation in 10% new oak, the wine ages for 12 months in 400-liter barrels and shows the lovely, Cab Franc aromas of earth-spice, mint, raspberry, strawberry and layers of sweet cassis.

 2  Domaine Théo Blet ‘La Peyanne’, 2022 Saumur Blanc ($38)
From Chenin vines between five and 25 year old grown in thin soils where tuffeau bedrock is immediately below the surface, the grapes are hand-harvested and spend 24 hours cooling, following which they are direct pressed and allowed a natural yeast fermentation. After that, there is a ten-month period spent in large used oak barrels and the wine is bottled without malo. The wine shows beautifully managed tension; classic fruit-forward Chenin with loads of fresh apple, pear, citrus and mineral notes.

Manoir de la Tête Rouge

Intense, driven and passionate, Guillaume Reynouard is the fox in charge of the chicken coop—as well as being a winemaker, he is president of the Syndicat des Vins Saumur and has a particular enmity for growers who rip out Pineau d’Aunis in favor of easier-to-grow varietals.

Taking charge of Domaine Manoir de la Tête Rouge in 1995, Guillaume soon converted to organics and was certified Biodynamic in 2010. The estate enjoys remarkably productive clay/ limestone terroir and he takes pride in ‘living vineyards’ where the soil is worked by hand to ensure that roots go deep and grass grows between rows to promote insect and other plant life; synthetic chemicals are prohibited. In the cellar, grapes are fully destemmed, indigenous yeasts are preferred, with no additions and very minimal sulfur use.

Guillaume Reynouard, Manoir de la Tête Rouge

According to Reynouard, “Responsible agriculture is a way of life and of thinking. When growing grapes, I aspire to act sensibly for the planet—a state of mind that develops naturally from a respectful relationship with nature. Knowing how to adapt to a changing environment requires constant questioning while the planting of forgotten varieties such as Pineau d’Aunis, the incorporation of trees into the cultivation of the vine (agroforestry) and the gradual abandonment of ‘modern’ oenology are avenues that I have followed for more than 20 years.”

 3  Manoir de la Tête Rouge ‘Bagatelle’, 2020 Saumur ‘Cabernet Franc’ ($21)
A bagatelle is something easy; something that requires little effort. This is not a comment on the precision that is de rigueur in Guillaume Reynouard’s winemaking, especially since the tech sheet for this wine specifies the terroir as 30% Jurassic limestone, 60% Turonian limestone and 10% silt, and the vines as being pruned in alternating Guyot-Poussard. Rather, the wine itself is created simply and naturally, macerated three weeks without yeasting, without chaptalization and without additives, then matured without sulfur. These minuses equal an ultimate plus; a pure Cabernet Franc with aromas of plum, raspberry, and cherry with notes of red pepper, spice, and graphite with silky tannins and bright acidity.

 4  Manoir de la Tête Rouge ‘Tête de Lard’, 2018 Saumur-Puy-Notre-Dame Rouge ($27)
100% Cabernet Franc from two parcels averaging 20 years of age, ‘Tête de Lard’—Head of Bacon’—is fermented on native yeasts and spends a year in used 300-liter barrels. The final blend is done in concrete tanks, where the wine rests for 4 months before bottling. Filled with ripe tones of blueberry and cassis with a slight vegetal edge, this is a natural wine suited for the cellar, but one that should be tasted every couple years to keep an eye on the progress.

5  Manoir de la Tête Rouge ‘l’Enchentoir’, 2018 Saumur-Puy-Notre-Dame ‘natural’ Rouge ($43)
In the sub-appellation Saumur-Puy-Notre-Dame, ‘l’Enchentoir’ is a venerable Cabernet Franc lieu-dit. Planted over Turonian limestone in 1959 using ‘sélections massales’, the pressed wine is aged in 300-liter barriques for one year plus another six months in Béton cuves (pre-cast concrete tanks). It displays depth and delicacy, showing blackberry and cherry over violets, rose petals and savory herbs.

 6  Manoir de la Tête Rouge ‘l’Enchentoir’, 2018 Saumur ‘Chenin’ ‘natural’ ($47)
Enchantoir boasts the silty soil over tuffeau chalk that is considered best for Loire Blanc to unfurl it’s pageant of honey-sweet acacia flowers, lime blossom and fall fruit cocktail; it is harvested by hand, directed pressed and aged a full year in used barrels before being bottled without fining or filtration.

Domaine Fosse-Sèche

If a single concept can describe the most profound change that has seized modern European winemaking, it is biodynamics—techniques that their forebears may have practiced by necessity without naming it, but which today is a nod to the cosmic continuum of which agriculture is only a part. Nowhere is this visionary approach more conspicuous than at Château de Fosse-Sèche, where twin brothers Guillaume and Adrien Pire (who grew up in Madagascar) bring with them not only degrees in agronomy and viticulture, but a deep respect for the wild land of their youth. Along with their wives Julie and Cécile, they have instilled Fosse-Sèche’s 800 year history with an abiding belief in a holistic remake of all phases of winemaking.

Adrien and Guillaume Pire, Château de Fosse-Sèche

Like an iron-red ruby amid the seafoam of limestone, the soils of Fosse-Sèche are rather unique in the Loire—a fact that has been recognized since the 13th century, when Benedictine monks first planted vines there. Move the clocks ahead to 1998, when the Keller-Pire family took over the estate, enraptured by the beauty of the surroundings and its exceptional terroir, composed of iron oxide and flinty silex just beneath the topsoil. Two-thirds of the Fosse-Sèche property is a natural reserve, with a bird sanctuary, acres of honey flowers, goats and thriving wetlands; of the hundred eleven acres of property, only 37 are used for vines. The single parcel is planted to Cabernet Franc (70%) and Chenin (30%).

Hélène Berteau, a beekeeper, also tends hives on the estate and benefits directly from everything that is done for the ecosystem. Guillaume Pire says, “We maintain between 2 and 5.5 hectares of pollen fallow. The logic of this mixture: bee plants attract pollinating insects and legumes fix nitrogen from the air. These plants loosen and aerate the soil, attract auxiliary insects (ladybugs, butterflies, etc.) and release seeds for birds. The deficiency of pollen and nectar is an important factor in the gradual extinction of populations of bees and other pollinating insects. These flowers are also shelters and potential sources of food for wildlife thanks to this richness in insects.”

 7  Domaine Fosse-Sèche ‘Arcane’, 2020 VdF Loire-Saumur Blanc ($45)
Most Saumur vineyards are grown on a porous yellow limestone known as tuffeau. However, Fosse-Sèche’s biodynamic Chenin vines are planted on a distinctive Jurassic-era flint plateau with gravel and clay. The unique soils and the curved aspect of the vineyards allow for the fresh breeze to cool the vines rooted in heat-absorbing flint soils. The wine displays this bright ripeness; the nose features subtle flavors of honey, pineapple, green apple and pear, leading to a long finish replete with salinity and minerality.

Sylvie Augereau

With her background in literature, Sylvie Augereau is at home in either a bibliothèque or a vinothèque; she has chosen the latter to represent this phase in an exciting life. After a career in communications and a long journey across France shedding light on small producers, she founded ‘La Dive’, a festival celebrating natural wine, uniting 250 winemakers in a cave overlooking the Loire. And then, 2014, realizing her lifelong dream of owning a vineyard near Le Dive, she acquired 3.4 acres of land planted to Chenin, Cabernet Franc, Grolleau and Pineau d’Aunis.

Sylvie Augereau

“My growing principles embrace biodynamics,” she says. “All work in the vineyard is done manually or with the help of horses—we scrupulously avoid the use of machines. I see that an energy exchange between humans and vines fosters a deep connection. And yes, I talk to my vines and play music in the vineyard.”

With her husband Nicolas Reau by her side and Thierry German working in the cellar, Sylvie champions authenticity by allowing wine to evolve naturally without interference: “The commitment to expressing the purest reflection of the vineyard’s essence shines through such an approach,” she maintains. “The is how we harness invisible dimensions.”

 8  Sylvie Augereau ‘Les Manquants’, 2020 VdF Loire-Anjou Rouge ‘natural’ ($51)
Translating as ‘the Missing,’ this 100% Cabernet Franc originates in a 3-acre, century-old lieu-dit between Saumur and Angers. The concentration and structure of the wine is remarkable; it displays rich cassis, shatteringly crisp graphite notes and freshly-turned earth along with an herb blend dominated by bay leaf.

Notebook …

Climate Change in the Loire Valley Favors Chenin

If the climate hands you lemons, it may be times to rethink grapes. In regions where warming trends are playing havoc on many stand-by varietals in their traditional stomping grounds (wine pun intended), even a slight rise in temperature and small decrease in rainfall changes the game considerably. Chenin is no stranger to the Loire, of course, but areas that did not produce top-shelf wines from the grape are finding that longer hang-times and judicious cellar manipulations can tame the sharp acids that have long prevented Chenin from becoming a true rival to Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc. Not only that, but unlike these two familiar grapes, harvesting Chenin later does not seem to significantly decrease the ‘freshness’ quality so prized by tasters. Barrel-fermented and cask-aged Chenin are poised to take their due place on the world’s wine stage; a small upside to a global disaster.

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Posted on 2024.11.07 in France, Wine-Aid Packages