Thierry Germain Saumur Champigny Les Mémoires 2020 Bouteille (75cl)
The 2020 Saumur-Champigny Les Mémoires from Domaine des Roches Neuves, crafted by Thierry Germain, is a 100% Cabernet Franc red wine from the Loire Valley. Jancis Robinson awards it 16.5+ /20 and recommends drinking it from 2024 to 2032. Critics describe a wine with floral and subtle menthol notes, a supple and savory texture, driven by finely etched tannins and a chalky freshness.
La bouteille proposée
- Size
- Bottle (75cl)
- Label Condition
- Perfect
- Fill Level
- Perfect
- Capsule Condition
- Perfect
Identité du vin
- Couleur
- Red
- Pays
- France
- Région
- Loire
- Appellation
- Saumur Champigny
- Producteur / Domaine
- Domaine des Roches Neuves
- Cuvée
- Les Mémoires
- Millésime
- 2020
Domaine des Roches Neuves
Located in Varrains, five kilometers from Saumur, Domaine des Roches Neuves spans 28 hectares divided across 61 plots. Thierry and Marie Germain craft white Saumur wines from Chenin Blanc and Saumur-Champigny reds from Cabernet Franc, offering a plot-by-plot interpretation of the tuffeau soils. Their son Louis, who returned to the estate in 2020, now contributes to the continuity of this biodynamically farmed property.
- Owner
- Thierry et Marie Germain
- Surface (ha)
- 28.00 ha
- Production (average bottles per vintage)
- 120000
Histoire du domaine
Domaine des Roches Neuves was established in 1850 by the Duveau family. Thierry Germain, coming from six generations of Bordeaux winemakers, and his wife Marie took over the estate in 1991, which then comprised 12 hectares of Cabernet Franc. In 1996, they expanded it with an additional 8 hectares of Cabernet Franc and 2 hectares of Chenin Blanc. The vineyard was fully converted to organic farming in the late 1990s, followed by biodynamics in the early 2000s. In 2002, Thierry Germain partnered with nurseryman Lilian Bérillon to create a private conservatory of Cabernet Franc intended for future massal selections. The estate's holdings were further enriched in 2012 with Clos de l'Échelier and Les Mémoires. Louis Germain, the eldest son of Thierry and Marie, joined the estate with his partner Agathe in 2020 and has progressively taken on more responsibilities alongside his parents.
Les Mémoires
Les Mémoires is a single-plot Saumur-Champigny made from Cabernet Franc originating from an enclosed plot of very old vines planted in 1904 facing the Loire. Its terroir combines flint scree with Upper Turonian limestone. The estate describes a complex, powerful, and subtle wine, marked by mineral purity.
- Origin of the cuvée name
- The name evokes the "memory" carried by the very old Cabernet Franc vines planted in 1904.
- Cuvée creation year
- 2012
- Style of the cuvée
- A deep and vertical Saumur-Champigny, combining density, freshness, precise tannic structure, and mineral expression, with a profile that is both powerful and subtle.
- Position within the range
- Major single-plot cuvée crafted from some of the estate's oldest Cabernet Franc vines.
Histoire de la cuvée
The Les Mémoires plot joined the Domaine des Roches Neuves vineyards in 2012, the year of the cuvée's first documented vintage. It comes from Cabernet Franc vines planted in 1904 on a terroir overlooking the Loire.
