Description
Clos Rougeard Saumur Blanc, “Brézé”
Since the Foucault brothers first begin being whispered about by top French Sommeliers back in the late 1980s and ’90s they’re unparalleled takes on the wines of Saumur have become some of the most collectable and sought after bottles in the pantheon of “in-the-know” unicorns. These expressions of Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc are thrilling, age-worthy and profoundly complex. They are must haves for any serious French wine collection, and of course they are very limited.
The only white that Rougeard makes, “Brézè” hails from a hillside parcel of mostly limestone substrate that is ideally suited to Chenin Blanc. Like the red wines it is fermented with native yeasts in concrete tanks and aged in barriques, 20% new, for 18 to 24 months. This is one of the great white wines of France and has been compared to, and indeed sometimes referred to as the “Montrachet” of the Loire. It will age gracefully for many years but if you open one young decant for 1-2 hours and serve cool, not cold, at about 55 degrees in a Burgundy stem. Wow!
