Clos Rougeard Le Clos Saumur Champigny 2018

Clos Rougeard Le Clos Saumur Champigny 2018

Clos Rougeard is an highly regarded wine estate in Saumur Champigny near the village of Chacé in the Loire Valley. The estate was taken over by brothers Bernard (better known as "Nady") and Charly Foucault in 1969, but had been in their family since 1894. Clos Rougeard has become famous as a cult producer because of the high quality and extremely limited release of its wines – around 2500 cases annually.

Saumur-Champigny is a red wine appellation of Saumur in the central Loire Valley wine region of France.

Saumur-Champigny wines are made predominantly from Cabernet Franc, with a permitted (if rarely used) addition of up to 15 percent Cabernet Sauvignon and/or Pineau d'Aunis (sometimes called "Chenin Noir" here). The wines are typically light or medium-bodied, and characterized by crisp acidity and forward, slightly spicy, berry fruit flavors.

Critical Acclaim

93 Vinous

The 2018 Le Bourg is a mouth-filling, full expression that's robust and powerful, offering up rich flavors of smoked bacon, tapenade and mint. This is not a wine for opening any time soon; it has chunky tannins and a sense of dryness, alongside herbs and Elastoplast which suggest there may be some Brett here. This is quite lengthy and would be designed for the long-haul if there were no microbiological activity going on.

90 Wine Advocate

The 2018 Saumur Champigny Le Bourg from Clos Rougeard has a dark, somber bouquet of licorice, iris, flowers and dark wild berries. Medium to full-bodied, tense and chiseled, it’s broad with delicate calcareous dry extract and a firm, tense and tight finish with firm tannins, unfortunately dominated by the presence of Brettanomyces.