Clos Rougeard, Saumur-Champigny, Les Bourg 2012
Not surprisingly, hardly anyone in America has even heard of Clos Rougeard. Well, we're here to change all that. This estate has been in the family for several generations. The Foucault brothers tend exceptional vineyards, harvest at small yields, vinify in barrel, let the wines age for a couple of years in a frigid cellar and bottle without filtration. The result (even in "challenging" years) is a few of the top red wines of the Loire Valley. Charles Joguet, the great winemaker of Chinon, once said: "there are two suns. One shines outside for everybody. The second shines in the Foucaults' cellar."