Clos Rougeard, Saumur Champigny

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Clos Rougeard has been in the Foucault family for eight generations, with the estate itself dating to at least the mid-1600s (the time from which the earliest documents for the estate date). Run by the brothers Nady and Charly Foucault since 1969, Clos Rougeard has risen to be the single greatest estate in Saumur-Champigny, and arguably one of the great wineries of the world. Clos Rougeard has never been farmed with chemical intervention and has always been managed using traditional methods, both in the vineyard and winery. The yields are minute, the vinification takes place strictly in very carefully managed barrel system, and the total production is very small and very limited. The result is the ultimate expression of Cabernet Franc (and Chenin Blanc, through the vanishingly rare ’Brèze’ Blanc). Sadly, Charly Foucault died in December 2015. In 2017, the estate was sold to the Bouygues brothers, owners of Château Montrose in St-Estèphe. The tradition and commitment to quality and terroir continue, however, and the wines remain among the most significant and iconic in the world.