Clos Rougeard, Saumur Champigny, Rouge 2005

94 points John Gilman

It is always a treat to taste the brilliant wines from the Foucault brothers at Clos Rougeard, and their newly released 2005s are every bit as brilliant as one would expect from a great estate in a great vintage. The 2005 Clos bottling offers up a beautifully complex nose of red berries, black cherries, woodsmoke, soil, gentle cedary notes, a touch of juniper and a lovely topnote of fresh thyme. On the palate the wine is medium-full, tight and laser-like in its focus, with tangy acids, lovely mid-palate depth, ripe tannins and outstanding length and grip. The Clos bottling usually only sees a very modest percentage of new oak, and for this reason it is one of my favorites at the estate, despite the obviously superior raw materials of the Poyeux and the Bourg bottlings. A great vintage of this bottling!

94+ (3/2017) David Schildknecht Wine Advocate

Regarding Clos Rougeard wines "display awesome potential and a richness unprecedented in my experience of Loire Cabernet Franc." This exceptional cult domaine, run by brothers Nadi and Charlie Foucault, was "found" by the late Louis Dressner, who had a knack for identifying incredible producers. Their winemaking includes small yields, barrel fermentation, slow and cold barrel aging, and bottling without filtration--all practices that contribute to creating these highly sought-after, allocated wines. Famed Chinon winemaker Charles Joguet was once quoted as saying, "There are two suns. One shines outside for everybody. The second shines in the Foucaults' cellar."

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• 6 standard bottles or 12 standard bottles

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