Saumur-Champigny Les Roches

Try with rabbit and mushroom soup, roast leg of salt-marsh lamb or veal chops with baby onions and wild mushrooms.

Hand-harvested Cabernet Franc (100%) from 25+ year old vines in and around the village of Varrains. All indigenous yeast.

It then ages slightly on its own lees for 3-4 months in stainless steel tanks and French oak foudres.

After being classified on the selection table, the Domaine des Roches Neuves Saumur Champigny grape clusters macerate for 8 to 10 days and begin to ferment in stainless steel tanks at a temperature of 16 to 22ºC. The fermentation ends at a temperature of 24ºC.

Serious wines are produced at this estate run by the charismatic Thierry Germain. His approach is closer to a Burgundy wine-maker than a typical Loire producer. This 50-acre domaine situated in a superb viticultural location in the appellation of Saumur-Champigny has been a winery since 1850. Germain from a long line of Bordeaux winemakers arrived here in 1991 attracted by the region’s perfect balance of grape varietal climate and 'terroir' which he considers one of the finest in France. The vineyard is worked in a natural way with the goal of keeping the vine and the soil at its healthiest and Thierry has become a fully-fledged advocate of biodynamics.