i-WineReview.com

• Report 22: Wines of the Western Loire, 5/6/2010 (link)

  (Domaine du Collier Saumur Blanc La Charpentrie Samur) Subscribe to see review text.

Vinous

• By Josh Raynolds
  May/June 2010, IWC Issue #150 (link)

  (Domaine du Collier La Charpentrie Saumur Blanc) Subscribe to see review text.

Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  12/11/2008 (link)

  (CHARPENTRIE Blanc COLLIER) Loire Dear Friends, Loire fans, this one's for you. I've been saving this for the holiday season as I knew early on it would be tough to top. It's not often you come across something with the pedigree of a Huet or Clos Rougeard - today we do. Domaine du Collier is the bastion of Antoine Foucault (of Clos Rougeard fame) and his personal winery has become the symbol of good taste in Paris. Expensive and precious to those that are captivated by the elder Foucault's Rougeard, Antoine's wine is already at a level normally reserved for old-time legends in France. To open a bottle of Collier at a tasting brings a hushed response - most other wines are cast aside in favor of Antoine's old-vine dry Chenin and Franc. If you've been waiting patiently for Rougeard's 2005s to debut, you may want to try these first. If it's any show of support, Charly Foucault himself claims Antoine's wine is better than his own and he puts his money where his mouth is by drinking more than his fair share of his son's labor of love - high praise indeed. Featured at some of the finest restaurants in the world (Gordon Ramsay, etc), this is a producer that has not only reached "cult status" in France (as much as I disdain that phrase) for the emphatic rarity of the wines but also for the exhilarating and pure expression of a special terroir around the Saumur town of Breze. Collier's red and white capture the organic sense of place and depth of fruit and minerality others find very difficult to achieve - the greatest terroirs show themselves in the bottle and that's exactly what Domaine du Collier is set to showcase - all without any added yeast, enzymes, treatments or other. Prices are already high but they are heading up as well - take advantage before they are completely out of reach (you should investigate DI out of the UK or France on these if you can find original provenance - the prices may be less than ours). ONE PARCEL ONLY directly from the source - only 10-15 cases of each for the entire US (including restaurants) All are VERY HIGHLY RECOMMENDED: 2005 Domaine du Collier Saumur Blanc EXTREMELY LIMITED From vines with an average age of 40 years but some up to 72 years of age, this wine has impact as its strategy but impact in a Saumur way - delicate Chenin sap coats the palate and each pebble unfolds like a gentle fleck of glass toying with the first layer of your tongue. Heady (like Montrachet) but piquant (like Muscadet), If purity could be any more robust and restrained in the same sip, I'd like to taste it. Amazing wine from the 2005 vintage that will be talked about in many circles. 2005 Domaine du Collier Saumur Blanc "Le Charpentrie" EXTREMELY LIMITED From a parcel of 100-110 year old vines, this dry Chenin Blanc was a candidate for my 2008 Wine of the Year but I could not bring myself to publicly announce that on a wine with only 60 bottles for the country (maybe I will anyway). It appears to be nothing special upon first opening (and for the first few hours) but a cataclysm of fruit, rock, wood and extract starts to unfurl with exposure and that's where the word "ordinary" ends. This wine requires a full 24 hours of decant (yes, for a white) and it has the chance to age for at least 25-50 years. It is a masterwork of Chenin sec that must be cellared for at least a decade. Only for the most serious Loire collectors. 2004 Domaine du Collier Saumur Rouge "Le Ripaille" EXTREMELY LIMITED Let's get this out of the way first - Foucault prefers 2004 to 2005 for the reds - it is more transparent and full of the character that they go for at Clos Rougeard - the same can be said for Domaine du Collier. This wine is Antoine's top red bottling (there is also a regular Saumur Rouge - we don't have any) and it is hypnotic in its autumnal and idiosyncratic display of Cabernet Franc, soil and cement tones. This wine has structure, gorgeous aromatics that reflect the four seasons around Breze and a powerful persona in the way a top Chambolle such as Bonnes Mares marries masculine energy with the feminine nature of Burgundy. This wine also opens over 12-24 hours and it's as serious as it gets in the Loire. Should age for a long time. 120 bottles for the US. Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Loire7370 Loire7380 Loire7390