2003 Clos Rougeard, One Blanc, One Rouge

  • 2003 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur Brézé - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur (3/2/2012)
    Quite compelling wine that needed time to open up and really needs more time in the cellar. I tried just a taste of this over a couple of hours in a large glass. Initially it was closed down but the mineral punch on the finish began to emerge quite quickly. While I have been informed this wine is not “oxidized” it definitely has oxidative notes on the nose. The palate is a nice balance of tart melon, mineral and some honeycomb notes. Very hard to tell this was from the hot 2003 vintage. Before it came to room temperature, there was only a mere hint of heat on the back-end but at proper temperature mineral dominated the finish. Hopefully, I will have another chance to try this wine in the future!
  • 2003 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny (3/2/2012)
    Popped and poured a small sample into large glass and drank over a couple of hours. The initial nose had a lot of woodsy notes that started to give way to more funk, herbs and flint. The palate is tight and dominated by structure at this point. Oak is noticeable and I was informed this cuvee has the longest time to “swallow” its oak but it did not detract from this youthful wine. White pepper and flowers peak through but then a palate drying tannin takes over. However , the finish has a nice energy from the acid. Again, this wine surprised me given the vintage. I guess Clos Rougeard has ideal soils and excellent vine rigor resulting in the vines being able to handle vintage variations such as the heat that 2003 brought.

Posted from CellarTracker

Warren, did you try these wines from Nathan when he stopped by? I had them later on in the evening and they really seemed to blossom with air. Both were drinking exceptionally well, though the oak on the Breze was a little stronger than I would have preferred. Time should probably sort that out. The Poyeaux was excellent; it really made the 2003 ripeness quite flattering rather than detracting from the wine.

nicely done. in my experience with multiple bottlings from other vintages like 98, 01 and 02, these wines need 15+ years to really show their best. come to think of it much like traditionally made nebbiolo.

referring to the rouge… haven’t had a blanc from them ever. chenin, right?

The Breze is chenin.

Nice notes Warren, still thinking of the Bourg we had earlier this year. Great producer.

Hi Warren, nice meeting you.

Did you find that the Breze was all over the place? I found that it was up and down radically over the course of the evening? Maybe the glass didn’t show that, but multiple pours from the bottle sure did, at least IME.

I was pleased with how the Poyeux showed, but think it still needs some time to come together. At dinner, the wood seemed to integrate by the end of the evening. The wood on Rougeard bothers me a lot less than it does most people.