Domaine des Roches Neuves - Thierry Germain - Saumur-Champigny - Terres Chaudes - Red - 2023

Wine:

The 2023 Saumur-Champigny Terres Chaudes Red showcases Cabernet Franc at its finest, with beautifully textured ripe-fruit depth that promises a bright future over the next fifteen years. Suave, refined, and full of charm, it delivers a polished, energetic palate—elegant in structure with real underlying drive. A graceful, characterful wine built to age with style.

Vinification:

Hand harvested in small crates, 100% destemming, fermentation in 60 hl truncated cone-shaped vats and aged for one year on fine lees in 600 l wooden vats and 12 hl oval vats.

Certified organic and biodynamic wine.

Color:

Intense ruby, brilliant.

Nose:

Aromas of ripe fruit (blackcurrant, blueberry, strawberry, etc.) combined with floral and spicy notes.

Palate:

This cuvée shows a suave, refined character with a polished, lively texture and impeccable balance. It’s both charming and precise, with a graceful sense of energy running through the palate.

Temperature:

Serve between 14 and 16°C.

Food and wine pairing:

Spiced roast duck, prime rib of beef, duck aiguillettes with green pepper, shoulder of lamb cooked for seven hours in the oven, lamb tagine with prunes, apricots and fresh almonds.

Cellar aging:

From now until 2035

A Loire Valley icon with a prestigious 3-star rating from Revue du Vin de France—France’s leading wine publication—Domaine des Roches Neuves has become a reference point in Saumur. Under the vision of Thierry Germain, now joined by his son Louis and daughter Jeanne, the estate has carved out a distinctive path built on clarity, freshness, and finesse.

Working biodynamically and with a rare instinct for élevage, Germain crafts wines that are truly one-of-a-kind—Cabernet Francs that combine depth and ripeness with floral lift and crunch, thanks to finely judged ageing that brings structure without weight.

With the next generation now fully on board, the future is in expert hands. The latest white releases are radiant and saline, capturing the purest expression of Chenin Blanc on tuffeau limestone. As for the reds, they’re bright, balanced, and razor-sharp—proof that Saumur can deliver both precision and pleasure at the highest level.

This is the Loire Valley at its most inspired.