Description
Château de Fosse-Sèche, Saumur Rouge “Eolithe”
Some of the most elegant, intriguingly complex—and shockingly underpriced—red wines I’ve tasted all year hail from the Saumur region of the Loire Valley. As I look back on 2021, in fact, Saumur could field a formidable all-star team from the estates we’ve featured, with today’s wine surely among the starting five.
When I taste this wine, I think about walking a vineyard with a winemaker in the days leading up to harvest, sampling grapes off the vine, and tasting a little vineyard dust along with the sweet juice. “Eolithe” is a smoky, tangy evocation of Château de Fosse-Sèche’s special situation; not 20 minutes to the east is Clos Rougeard and its legendary Cabernet Francs, but this wine more than holds its own, especially when you consider their respective prices. From a biodynamic oasis in the village of Brossay, the Pire brothers, Adrien and Guillaume, are making some of the best wines in a region teeming with excellent choices: If you missed Eolithe the last time we offered it, do not miss it again. Without question, it’s one of the sleeper superstars of the year.
French wine labels can be cryptic sometimes. Take, for example, the word “Eolithe” on the label here. Is that the name of a vineyard? Is it an homage to the winemaker’s mother? Neither would be a bad guess, but it is in fact a geological name for a chipped piece of flint. With a little more digging, you learn why that’s significant, and special: Most vineyards in the Saumur and Saumur-Champigny wine regions are rooted in a porous yellow limestone called tuffeau, but Fosse-Sèche sits on a plateau of Jurassic-era flint. It is effectively an island unto itself, and the Pires aim to be as transparent as possible in showcasing that unique soil.
In addition to being what Adrien Pire has called a “geological curiosity,” Fosse-Séche is also a historic place, first discovered by Benedictine monks who planted vines there in the Middle Ages. The Pire-Keller family (the two brothers, their mother, and stepfather) found the estate in 1998 and have since worked to create a self-contained ecosystem to complement their 17 hectares of biodynamic vines, which are certified by the Ecocert and Biodyvin governing bodies. Some of the property’s 45 hectares are left fallow to encourage wildlife and insects, and in addition to vines they farm alfalfa and raise goats and bees. The property is also a nationally recognized bird sanctuary—this is natural wine with a capital “N.”
From those flint/iron oxide soils, the family crafts an assortment of cuvées from Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, and Chardonnay, most of them aged in cement tanks/stainless steel. Eolithe is mostly Cabernet Franc with a tiny dollop of Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced from vines aged 10-50 years. Fermented on native yeasts, the wine aged about 21 months on its lees (spent yeast cells) in tank, creating a wine with lots of purity, mineral depth, and youthful energy.
In the glass, the 2018 Eolithe is a deep, youthful ruby with hints of violet, with aromas that unfold in layers the longer the wine is open (for best results, give it a rough decanting at least 30 minutes before serving at 60-65 degrees in Burgundy stems). Aromas of black and red plums, cherries, black raspberries, violets, pepper, crushed rocks, and smoke carry over to a bright, quenching, medium-bodied palate. There are many kindred qualities to top-quality, naturally made Cru Beaujolais, with a similar iron-rich minerality to make your mouth water. The tension in this wine suggests it has many years of positive evolution ahead of it: People don’t often think of aging wines at this price point, but as Eolithe puts on a little weight over the next 3-5 years it’s going to be something special. So, see if you can forget a few bottles in a corner of your cellar someplace while enjoying one (or two) now with something bistro-y like steak frites, coq au vin, or ratatouille. Although driven right now by bright, ripe fruit and a hint of flinty smoke, there’s also lots of Burgundy-style “underbrush” character. It is just fantastic—I can’t recommend it highly enough!
