Saumur-Champigny, “Clos des Oratoriens”

The “Clos des Oratoriens” Rouge comprises a parcel of Cabernet Franc planted in 1947 in a particularly limestone-rich section of the clos. After a spontaneous fermentation in open-top wooden casks with a 10-day maceration, the wine is aged for one year: part in tronconic wooden Grenier casks, part in stainless steel, and part in clay jars situated in the deepest part of the chateau’s cellar. The result is a wine of remarkable finesse and liveliness, with delicate tannins and strikingly energetic fruit, and the old age of the vines is felt in the wine’s intensity rather than in any sense of weight or undue power.