Clos Rougeard 1976 - 2010 organised by Jordi Orriols-Gil

A superb selection of Clos Rougeard Breze, Les Poyeux and Le Bourg ( almost difficult to believe at first ) organised by @jordiorriols and hosted by the team of Noble Rot at their Restaurant (http://noblerot.co.uk/wine-bar). A unique opportunity to experience these wines across the decades and at different evolution.

Interesting for us is the overall victory of the lighter Les Poyeux over the usually better rated Le Bourg and it seems the lighter use of oak and winemaking are closer to our style.

Amazing purity and elegance with that savoury character is what we will take away from this tasting.

Slip Sole & Seaweed Butter

• 1993 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur Blanc Brézé 87 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur

  Dark, light caramel looking, shows age and evolution. Well evolved akin to a rhone White of a similar age, rich, closer at times to a sweet wine albeit not sweet per se. Nutty, buttery, fatty wine. Sweet wine nose but totally dry. A touch difficult to enjoy to be honest but an experience nonetheless. 87

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• 2000 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur Blanc Brézé 92 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur

  Dark yellow gold in colour. Reductive, dense, waxy texture, very mineral and with light camomile tone on the nose. Light nutty with a nice rich stone fruit mix. But really the wine stands out for its layers of flavour and distinct character. Again reminded us of aged rhone white wine. Very interesting albeit not for everyone. 91-92

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• 2005 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur Blanc Brézé 89 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur

  Good greenish yellow in colour and looked very youthful next to the 2000 (Papies 92) and the 1993 ( Papies 87) we had side by side.
  Oxitative, savoury, good density, less fruity and more mineral, stony feel to it. Relatively a fresh nose but lacks the complexity to be honest and dines ion of the 2000 for example. 89-90 , good but not memorable.

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Guineau Fowl, Puy lentils & wild garlic

• 1976 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux 87 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny

  Light cloudy, raspberry red colour. Peppery nose, light fruit, lovely soft nose, delicate and balanced and is the highlight of the wine.
  On the palate it feels quite old and as if it was way past its peak albeit this could be bottle specific issue.a touch dry, soft, delicate wine, savoury as all clos rougeard wines are but definitely not impressive. 87

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• 1985 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux 88 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny

  Pure fruit nose, secondary as expected, open though, expressive and very nice albeit a touch dusty. Much like the 76 we had before ( Papies 87) the nose was the highlight of the wine. Starts well on the palate but from the midpalate and on tails off and is a bit dry and sort of falls apart.savouty wine with good character but well past its peak. Bottle was very well kept and had solid cork so not reason to think of bad wine here. 88

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• 1986 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux 88 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny

  On the richer side in general compared to the 85 ( Papies 88) , very savoury, good palate presence and with a good fruit feel. Still a touch dry and definitely its best days like a decade away. Has a light sweet core but finishes dry and is not impressive. 88

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• 1988 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux 92 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny

  1988 and onwards seems to be the time that CR found its stride.
  Shy on the nose, light and delicate. It compensates on the palate though with a lovely mix of savoury and fruity notes, lightest touch of earth. Almost no earthy notes at start. Nice soft wine, effortlessly balanced and really a wine of character and purity. 92-93

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• 1989 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux 94 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny

  Open on the nose, lovely savoury and fruit balance across this wine, red fruits. Savoury on the palate too as all clos rougeards are, effortless elegance, balance and purity. It expresses it style almost like a naturally gifted singer and this was one of the most profound wines of the night barring the excellent 1990 ( Papies 96). Such purity too. 94-95

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• 1989 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Le Bourg 94 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny

  Like its brother the Les Poyeux 89 ( Papies 94-95) this is a masterful wine . A lot richer here and definitely the extra barrel ageing makes of a fattier wine with more presence albeit somehow loses out the effortless beauty of the Les Poyeux and something we saw across the tasting. Very savoury with a darker , smoky side feel, light oaky feel, good density of fruit. 94

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Braised lamb, peas, broad beans & jersey royals

• 1990 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux 96 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny

  Easily our wine of the night.
  Richer than usually for a Les Poyeux but still in balance, the characteristic savouriness is there in heaps, just a touch of more oak than expected too.Good albeit touch chewy tannin, a bit more weight than usual but complements the wine to the limit and create for an an excellently balanced wine with purity and finesse . Good acidity too. Very elegant wine and such a joy. 96+

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• 1990 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Le Bourg 95 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny

  Having tried this wine 5 months ago from n impecable cellar and rated 98 we were a bit disappointed to have gotten a light wiff of TCA on this that was just enough to spoil this almost perfect wine. Still with that the wine was a good 94-95 but still not to the level.

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• 1994 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux 94 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny

  Starts very floral but settles quickly into a classic clos rougeard wine with its savoury feel albeit this has less acidity than the rest of the flight and as a result a touch sweeter fruit core. Still the light sweeter character complements the wines savoury core very well and creates a beautiful wine full of charm and purity . An easy 94

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• 1995 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Le Bourg 92 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny

  Fresh fruits on the nose in a way! Light sweet feel and the richer oaky feel is very much noticeable. Lacks a bit the balance we like to see in clos rougeard wines and definitely lacked the definition. Still a very good wine and have we had it on its own we would have enjoyed it a lot more but along with with brother the Les Poyeux 95 ( Papies 93) felt a lot less impressive than the other 90s. A good 92

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• 1995 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux 93 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny

  Much like its brothe the Le Bourg 95 (Papies 92) was less impressive than other 90s vintages but still the lighter style of winemaking of Le Poyeux saved the day. It's thinner on the palate, light watery at times but still hold its own and deliver very well. Very pure, balanced but not as impressive as we expected. 92-93

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• 1996 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Le Bourg 93 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny

  Rich dense and energetic. A bit richer than expected, darker wine almost smoky and with a roast meat feel at time. Savoury from the mid palate onwards good finish and length. The oak ageing is quite obvious here and maybe needs a few more years to develop and deliver to the level of earlier vintages. 93 and full of promise.

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Cheeses from La Fromagerie
Salers d'Estive & Regalis

• 1999 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux 93 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny

  Quite a fatty Lex Poyeux. Probably the richer or the vintages we have come across akin to a 1999 Burgundy richer.
  Good soft red fruit , nice balance of savoury and fruit albeit the richness of the fruit would have off centred the wine , and also the acidity felt lower too, the lighter handed winemaking in this vs Le Bourg keept the wine in tune.very good and with good future. 93

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• 2000 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux 94 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny

  Herbs, savoury and back to the more standard style ( vs the richer 1999). Darker edge, light spice, peppery notes of youth. Nice energy and brightness here and the wine was full of life and definitely felt a lot younger. The future is very bright here and maybe one to be buying if one finds this . 94 for now

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• 2002 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux 91 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny

  Felt very much the product of a poor vintage albeit the winemaker did enough to make a very good albeit early blooming soft wine. Reminded us a lot of the 20002 Sassicaia which albeit a lighter wine still a beautiful wine to enjoy now ( Papies 92)
  Very soft , light almost a lower gear Les Poyeux but very enjoyable and will not disappoint albeit we doubt it will be a cheap experience. 90-91

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• 2005 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Le Bourg 90 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny

  A bit disappointing and at odds with our previous note 5 months ago (Papies 95)
  We found it a bit medicinal, sweet, menthol nose. Felt a bit out of place and out of tune and something we cannot explain.. At best 90 at this show.

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• 2007 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Le Bourg 90 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny

  Felt outclassed by earlier vintages but also at this age the heavier wine,asking and oak use hides the charm of the wine and much like the 2005 lacked charisma and was a touch too sweet.maybe better in the future but no more than a 90 at this stage.

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• 2010 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux 93 Points

  France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny

  Young, bright fruited , energetic and full of life. Lots of red fruit here, raspberry . Yes it's very young but again the lighter use of oak and lighter touch in winemaking makes this approachable younger. Was such a contrast to all the other older vintages we had on the event with their savoury character, still a wine of elegance and purity even at this young age. 93

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General Notes on Clos Rougeard

Jean-Louis (Charly) and Bernard (Nady) have been representing the eighth generation of viticulturist in their family Domaine du Clos Rougeard since they took responsibility in 1969. Located in Chace, in the Loire Valley, some of their parcels have been under vine since at least 1664. Today their family domaine expands 10ha in the appellation Saumur-Champigny. They were among the first to embrace the bio-dynamic agriculture in the 1970s. Charly was in charge of the vinification (until tragically passing away last December) while Nady organises the commercial side.

The Wines:
Brézé is their white wine and is made out of a limestone Grand Cru Chenin Blanc parcel of 1ha, out of 45 year old vines.
Le Clos domaine red is the blend of two distinctive parcels of Cabernet Franc totalling 5ha.
Les Poyeux is grown on a sunny sandy parcel totalling 2.9ha of 45 year old Cabernet Franc.
Le Bourg is grown on a sunny limestone and clay parcel of only 1ha of 70 year old Cabernet Franc vines, producing less than 4,000 bottles a year.

After harvest the grapes are fully de-stemmed and fermented in barrel with manual punch down and gentle pumping over. Malolactics are allowed to happen in barrel and only Le Bourg goes into new oak (Les Poyeux uses 1 year old barrels and Le Clos older casks). There is no fining or filtration, sulphur use is kept to a minimum and the wines are bottled after an 18-24 month elevage.