Warm, intense and with super ripe yet refined and precise dark fruit, spicy toast and flint aromas open the 2019 Saumur Champigny Franc de Pied, which comes from a huge layer of sandy soil that has been planted at a high density of 10,000 vines per hectare. Fermented with whole clusters, the fruit is generous and elegant on nose and palate, pure and refined but rich and aromatic. This is a full-bodied and generous but finessed and fresh red with a marvelous texture and perfectly balanced fruit. The wine is superb, and although there might be more exciting terroirs, the silky texture and refreshing grip is unique, probably due to the antique vines and the whole-cluster fermentation, a method that is quite rare in Saumur. This Franc de Pied is fabulous, pure, fresh and crunchy and reminds me of finest Austrian Blaufr?nkisch. Tasted in June 2021.

The 2016 Saumur Champigny Franc de Pied is from pure sandy soils and very small grapes, macerated with whole bunches for 10 days, and bottled with 11.8% alcohol. ("Since 2008, I haven’t harvested above 12% alcohol but with the best maturity,“ Thierry says.) Generously warm and fruity on the very elegant and alluring nose, this is a very intense and charming, wide and beautifully balanced Cabernet Franc with concentrated and perfectly ripe fruit, very fine tannins and a silky texture. The finish is fruity and still charming. A lovely Cabernet Franc!

The dark ruby colored 2015 Saumur Champigny Franc de Pied has a deep, clear, fresh and concentrated bouquet of perfectly ripe dark and red fruits intertwined with herbal, mineral and slightly toasty aromas. Made with 100% whole clusters and aged in oval oak foudres for 12 months. Silky, lush and intense on the palate, with a fine yet very complex and persistent finish carried by very fine minerals and tannins, this is an intensely fruity but fine, elegant and concentrated Cabernet Franc from a high-density planting of 10,000 ungrafted, biodynamically farmed vines per hectare rooting in calcareous sandy/loamy soils. Doubtlessly a great Cabernet Franc from Champigny.

Bottled with 11.8% alcohol, the beautiful 2014 Saumur Champigny Franc de Pied shows a radiant crimson color and opens as a clear, delicate and spicy as well as floral Champigny. Silky, elegant and fresh on the palate, this is a juicy Cabernet Franc with fine and spicy tannins, great finesse and an impressive, stimulating salty finish. Tasted on a warm summer day during a lunch with producers in Saumur.