Winemaker Notes
Rougeard’s mythic white is made from Chenin Blanc grown in the hallowed Saumur Blanc terroir of Brézé, a unique slope of sandy clay and limestone.
Breze cuvee’s style is always to be determined by the vintage, which for the versatile Chenin Blanc in the central Loire could be Sec, Demi-Sec and even Moelleux, depending on the growing season. Aged in 20% new barrels, and rarely finishing malolactic fermentation, Clos Rougeard Brézé is a uniquely complex and long-lived expression of its great terroir.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Vinified in new (20%) and up to four-year-old barrels, the 2015 Saumur Blanc Brézé exhibits a deep, intensely fruity and chalky, concentrated and elegant bouquet of perfectly ripe fruits, orange and grapefruit, as well as fine iodine notes. Silky, round and highly elegant on the palate, this is a rich and powerful, incredibly aromatic, round and finely iodine Chenin Blanc of exceptional quality. The wine is intensely fruity, juicy, ripe, refined and elegant, finely grippy and salty, and it finishes with lovely orange bitters. An impressive Chenin Blanc for hedonists, it has developed dramatically well in the last three years. 13.5% alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted in September 2021.
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Decanter
A compelling nose reminiscent of a herbal infusion of linden flower and verbena is accompanied by a hint of sea breeze. A soft, mellow yet vibrant mouthfeel for this subtle, magical, seemingly weightless wine.
Unquestionably one of the most diverse grape varieties, Chenin Blanc can do it all. It shines in every style from bone dry to unctuously sweet, oaked or unoaked, still or sparkling and even as the base for fortified wines and spirits. Perhaps Chenin Blanc’s greatest asset is its ever-present acidity, maintained even under warm growing conditions. Somm Secret—Landing in South Africa in the mid 1800s, today the country has double the acreage of Chenin Blanc planted compared to France. There is also a new wave of dedicated producers committed to restoring old Chenin vines.
Marked by great châteaux built with the same tuffeau limestone that is also responsible for the excavation of so many of the famed Loire caves, Saumur is famous for its Chenin blanc based sparkling wines. Inside the Saumur region, Saumur-Champigny creates some of the Loire’s greatest Cabernet Francs.