Thierry Germain - Domaine des Roches Neuves : Outre Terre 2018

The freshness of a floral and dense Saumur-Champigny wine

The estate

In 1992, the young Thierry Germain left his native Bordeaux to settle in the Anjou region. He took over the Roches Neuves estate, founded in 1850 and established in Varrains, near Saumur, in the Loire. Regarded as one of the greatest winemakers of his generation, Thierry Germain produces plot-based wines that reflect, with utter precision, the identity of the grape varieties grown on the estate and Anjou’s chalky, tufa and sandy-clay soils.

The vineyard

The Roches Neuves estate now comprises 23 hectares of vines, certified in organic and biodynamic farming by Ecocert and Biodyvin. The soils are worked using a horse and the vines enjoy grassing. Produced in the Saumur-Champigny appellation, the Outre-Terre wine stems from a selection of vines located in Saumur, on a 50 centimeter-deep sandy terroir over limestone.

The vinification and ageing

The Roches Neuves estate’s Outre Terre wine is made from hand-picked grapes. Thierry Germain carries out an 8-month skin maceration in 8 hl Georgian amphorae (Kvevri). The wine is aged for 12 months in barrels. The wine is bottled directly in the cellar, without filtration or adding sulphur.

The blend

A monovarietal wine, Outre Terre 2018 by the Roches Neuves estate is made entirely from the Cabernet Franc grape variety.

The tasting

Colour

This wine showcases a bright red colour.

Nose

The aromatic bouquet highlights beautiful floral notes, such as peonies.

Palate

The attack reveals a full and fresh body which balances the wine’s slight sweetness, enhanced by a pleasant bitterness on the finish.