Notify me
2020 Saumur-Champigny “Les Mémoires”
Thierry GermainThe 2020 vintage was excellent for Cabernet Franc. The long, warm growing season was mostly drama-free, the resulting fruit ripe and abundant. This bottling is sourced from a small parcel of 110+-year-old vines, a good portion of which are ungrafted, and as you’d expect from well-tended old vines in a strong vintage, the wine is dense with promise. The fruit is very fine, almost silky, with intense minerality on the finish. Upon opening, it was quite closed but showed its potential the following day. Patience is needed—and will be rewarded.
—Dustin Soiseth
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2020 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Cabernet Franc |
Appellation: | Saumur-Champigny |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | Thierry Germain |
Winemaker: | Thierry Germain |
Vineyard: | 112 years, .8 ha |
Soil: | Silex Scree, Turonien Supérieur Limestone |
Aging: | Aged in 2500L foudre for 12 months |
Farming: | Biodynamic (certified) |
Alcohol: | 13.5% |
More from this Producer or Region
2020 Saumur Champigny “Clos de l’Échelier”
France | Loire
Fine, with bright acid, sleek silkiness, and great length, it is the most elegant of all of Thierry’s red wines.
2021 Saumur Champigny “Terres Chaudes”
France | Loire
Thierry has perfected the art of coaxing this Cabernet Franc’s soulfulness and elusive finesse into bottle.
2020 Saumur Blanc “Terres”
France | Loire
Redolent of almonds, honey, and a wide range of citrus, this kaleidoscopic Chenin finishes with a faint tannin, making it ideal alongside sushi, roast chicken, or a hard and flavorful cheese like Comté.
2020 Saumur Champigny “Outre Terre”
France | Loire
Outre Terre is a tiny production of Cabernet Franc fermented in amphora and aged in barrel.
2020 Saumur Blanc “L’Échelier”
France | Loire
This dry Chenin Blanc is etched from the white limestone beneath—crystalline, pure, and chiseled.
2020 Saumur Champigny “La Marginale”
France | Loire
Germain’s reds are grand examples of the heights biodynamic wines can achieve.
2020 Saumur-Champigny “Franc de Pied”
France | Loire
This Saumur Champigny is electric and alive, from the first scent of roses on the nose to the juxtaposition of textured tannic grip and sheer weightlessness on the palate.
2022 Saumur Champigny “Cuvée Domaine”
France | Loire
This cuvée delivers trademark elegance and notes of blackberries, forest, and graphite.
2022 Saumur Champigny “La Foulée”
France | Loire
Made in a fruit-forward, supple, easy-drinking style with very little added sulfur.
2020 Saumur Blanc “L’Insolite”
France | Loire
This blanc is chiseled and electric and boasts notes of citrus, herbs, and stones that would beautifully complement pan-fried sea bass or shrimp tacos.
About The Producer
Thierry Germain
Thierry relocated to the Loire from Bordeaux in the early 1990s, and soon fell under the influence of his spiritual father, Charly Foucault of Clos Rougeard. Thierry would ultimately convert his entire domaine to biodynamic viticulture, which was the equivalent of his wine epiphany. Listening and observing his plants, allowing them to guide him, revolutionized his way of thinking. Thierry harvests on the relatively early side to preserve fresh, vibrant fruit. His goal is to produce Cabernet with purity, finesse, and drinkability, while avoiding rusticity, vegetal character, and hard tannins. When it comes to his Chenin, he makes bone dry, high acid, mineral wines that drink like Chablis young and take on weight slowly over time. Aging takes place in large oval foudres (for the whites) and round foudres and demi-muids (for the reds) in Thierry’s frigid tuffeau cellars below his winery in Varrains. His incredibly diverse terroirs are translated with utter clarity and precision.
About The Region
Loire
The defining feature of the Loire Valley, not surprisingly, is the Loire River. As the longest river in France, spanning more than 600 miles, this river connects seemingly disparate wine regions. Why else would Sancerre, with its Kimmeridgian limestone terroir be connected to Muscadet, an appellation that is 250 miles away?
Secondary in relevance to the historical, climatic, environmental, and cultural importance of the river are the wines and châteaux of the Jardin de la France. The kings and nobility of France built many hundreds of châteaux in the Loire but wine preceded the arrival of the noblesse and has since out-lived them as well.
Diversity abounds in the Loire. The aforementioned Kimmderidgian limestone of Sancerre is also found in Chablis. Chinon, Bourgueil, and Saumur boast the presence of tuffeau, a type of limestone unique to the Loire that has a yellowish tinge and a chalky texture. Savennières has schist, while Muscadet has volcanic, granite, and serpentinite based soils. In addition to geologic diversity, many, grape varieties are grown there too: Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Melon de Bourgogne are most prevalent, but (to name a few) Pinot Gris, Grolleau, Pinot Noir, Pineau d’Aunis, and Folle Blanche are also planted. These myriad of viticultural influences leads to the high quality production of every type of wine: red, white, rosé, sparkling, and dessert.
Like the Rhône and Provence, some of Kermit’s first imports came from the Loire, most notably the wines of Charles Joguet and Château d’Epiré—two producers who are featured in Kermit’s book Adventures on the Wine Route and with whom we still work today.
More from Loire or France
2022 Sancerre
Domaine Hippolyte Reverdy France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “L’Insolite”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Clisson “La Molette”
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
2022 Chinon “Les Granges”
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
2022 Savennières
Château d'Epiré France | Loire
2022 Saumur Champigny “Cuvée Domaine”
Domaine des Roches Neuves France | Loire
Touraine “Fines Bulles”
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire
2020 Sancerre “Hameau de Reigny”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2021 Bourgueil “Franc de Pied”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Sancerre
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2022 Val de Loire Sauvignon Blanc “Unique”
Domaine du Salvard France | Loire
2022 Pouilly-Fumé “Vieilles Vignes”
Régis Minet France | Loire
2022 Sancerre
Domaine Hippolyte Reverdy France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “L’Insolite”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2020 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Clisson “La Molette”
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
2022 Chinon “Les Granges”
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
2022 Savennières
Château d'Epiré France | Loire
2022 Saumur Champigny “Cuvée Domaine”
Domaine des Roches Neuves France | Loire
Touraine “Fines Bulles”
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire
2020 Sancerre “Hameau de Reigny”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2021 Bourgueil “Franc de Pied”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2022 Sancerre
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2022 Val de Loire Sauvignon Blanc “Unique”
Domaine du Salvard France | Loire
2022 Pouilly-Fumé “Vieilles Vignes”
Régis Minet France | Loire
Vintage Chart Mentality
Vintage Chart Mentality
Trust the great winemakers, trust the great vineyards. Your wine merchant might even be trustworthy. In the long run, that vintage strip may be the least important guide to quality on your bottle of wine.—Kermit Lynch