Cab Franc Chronicles - Your source for all things Cabernet Franc!

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Analysis and commentary of the Domaine des Roches Neuves (Thierry Germain), 2015 Les Mémoires, Saumur-Champigny, Loire Valley, France

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Thierry is one of the elite producers in the Saumur-Champigny appellation. The cornerstone of Thierry's approach is biodynamics, and the physical and spiritual relationship between the vines, the earth, the sun, and man. He takes a very meticulous and thoughtful approach in the vineyard and cellar, and when you spend a bit of time with him, you really get the sense that it is as if he knows and understands intimately each individual vine at the domaine.

Les Mémoires is one several cuvées parcellaires he makes wherein his goal is to showcase the terroir of the vineyard in the finished wine. Thierry acquired the parcels for this cuvée, along with those for Clos de l’Echelier, in 2012, and both clos are in a stone's throw from one another in the commune of Dampierre-sur-Loire.

The terroirs of the commune of Dampierre-sur-Loire are complex. The topography of this commune is quite varied, which means that we find any number of exposures from vineyard to vineyard, and the nature of the topography has exposed different types of soils.

At a slightly higher elevations, from around 65m to 90m, the soils date to the Senonian age and the Eocene epoch.

From the Senonian age, which is part of the Cretaceous period, we generally find a sands, clayey sands, and sandy clays, that can be mixed with quartz, sandstone and flint. These soils are deeper, often with a subsoil that is sandy-clay or in some spots a gravelly subsoil before the chalk bedrock.

From the Eocene epoch, we have two broad groups of soils. From the Lutetian age, we find a few pockets of the lacustrine, or fresh water, limestone. And this is the same freshwater limestone that we find more notably in the neighbouring commune Souzay-Champigny around the hamlet of Champigny. These soils tend to be a little more shallow with a variable subsoil. And from the Bartonian age, we have deeper clayey-sands and silty-sands, that in some cases are a bit more grey and white in colour, and in other cases more red, and these are mixed with flint, limestone or sandstone. Here we will find more sandy-clay or gravelly subsoils depending on the vineyard and parcel.

Les Mémoires comes from a 0.8ha parcel of vines in the northern end of the commune at an elevation of 85m above sea level. The soils here date to the Bartonian age. These are deeper soils, with a silty-sandy topsoil, and then about 70cm deep we find a sandy-clay subsoil before we hit a plateau of the chalk. These soils have a vein of flint or silex in them as well. They are also quite stony, anywhere from 50 to 100% stones. And the high percentage of stones will also contribute to the warmer microclimate of the vineyard.

The vines were planted in 1904, which means in the 2015 these vines would've been 111 years old. And because of the depth and slightly sandier textures in places in this clos, some of the vines are even on their own rootstock. These vines are believed to be some of the oldest vines, of ANY variety, in the entire Loire Valley.

In an effort to preserve the heritage of these very ancient vines, Thierry takes cuttings from the best plants from Les Mémories, as well as some other vineyards, and establishes new vines via selection massale in his vine conservatory, or his conservatoire de cabernet. And when he needs to replace vines in his vineyards, or establish a new vineyard, he will take cuttings from his vine conservatory to plant these new vines via selection massale.

Winemaking: the fruit is all hand-harvested and destemmed. Fermentation is done with indigenous yeast in concrete vats. The maceration is via infusion, and the total time on skins is about 15 to 18 days. The final cuvée is only free run wine. Aging is in round foudres for about 12 months.

0:00 Intro/Overview
1:11 Les Mémoires overview
1:47 Dampierre-sur-Loire terroirs
3:09 Terroirs of the Senonian age and Eocene epoch
5:26 Why soils matter!
6:45 Les Mémoires - parcels and growing environment
7:25 Les Mémoires - soils
8:23 Les Mémoires - vine age
9:23 Vine conservatory
10:11 Winemaking
11:35 Tasting notes
14:37 Final thoughts

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Website in progress with a full write up and tons more content.
Posted to Instagram September 19, 2022.

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Key facts below:
Producer: Domaine des Roches Neuves (Thierry Germain)
Appellation: Saumur-Champigny
Commune: Dampierre-sur-Loire
Lieu-Dit: La Folie
Soil: Silty-sand topsoil, sandy-clay subsoil, 50-100% stones (flint/silex)
Alcohol: 13%

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