Domaine du Collier 'La Ripaille' Saumur Rouge, Loire Valley, France 2008 [Library Selection]
Pickup available at DECANT Napa - 2999 Solano, Napa, CA
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Antoine Foucault and Caroline Boireau established Domaine du Collier in 1999, named after the Place du Collier where their family home is located in the commune of Brézé. Antoine is the son of the legendary Charly Foucault from Clos Rougeard, where he worked alongside his father and uncle from 1995 to 1999 before striking out on his own at age 26 by renting the La Ripaille vineyard. While Clos Rougeard built its reputation on age-worthy Cabernet Franc from Saumur-Champigny with Musigny-like elegance, Domaine du Collier has forged a dual identity—producing grand white wines that have become the estate's signature alongside compelling red wines from Cabernet Franc. The estate encompasses just under seven hectares of vines, with two-thirds planted to Chenin Blanc and the remaining third to Cabernet Franc in the important lieu-dits of La Ripaille and La Charpentrie, producing a mere 1,200 cases annually. Domaine du Collier has rapidly ascended from rising star status to join the ranks of Saumur's elite producers, earning three stars from La Revue du Vin de France. Antoine has remarked that while his background was in Saumur-Champigny, the majority of terroirs he farms are particularly suited to white wines with their stony, poor soils, and he has had to work harder to understand Cabernet Franc in these terroirs. These are regal, powerful wines brilliantly composed with precision—wines that often transcend grape variety in their deep expression of the limestone of Brézé.
- WINEMAKER: Antoine Foucault and Caroline Boireau
- FARMING: Certified Organic with biodynamic principles employed, no chemical fertilizers weed killers or fungicides, soils are worked through laboring to encourage vine roots to penetrate deep into the tuffeau bedrock with roots going several meters deep into the calcium-rich limestone, manual harvest with strict sorting carried out in the vineyards
- VARIETY: 100% Cabernet Franc from old vines (approximately 35 to 50 years of age at time of harvest)
- TERROIR: La Ripaille is a single west-facing lieu-dit located on the hillsides of Brézé in the Saumur appellation. The vineyard is situated within the historic grounds of Château de la Ripaille. The soil profile consists of approximately 1.5 meters of clay-silico-limestone topsoil over Turonian tuffeau limestone bedrock. The presence of tuffeau—a porous, chalky limestone used in the construction of the Loire's Renaissance architecture—results in finely mineral Cabernet Franc. The cold temperatures of Brézé combine with highly active calcium content in the soil to create wines with powerful acidic structures and pronounced minerality. The continental climate benefits from light precipitation due to the rain shadow effect of the Massif Armorican to the west. While this terroir is arguably more favorable to white wines, Antoine has refined his vinification approach over multiple vintages to extract the best from this challenging parcel for red wine production.
- VINIFICATION: Grapes are hand-harvested with severe sorting in the vineyard using sorting tables, spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts in barrel, all fermentation controlled naturally by underground cellar conditions, minimal intervention winemaking philosophy with no commercial yeasts, no sulfur added during vinification, extended maceration period to extract complexity while maintaining elegance
- AGING: Extended aging of 24 to 36 months without racking in Antoine's historic underground cellar system, aged in a combination of seasoned oak barrels and Stockinger foudres, Antoine utilizes two separate troglodytic cellars carved from tuffeau limestone—the high humidity cellar built in the 10th-12th century is used for Chenin Blanc while the low humidity, colder cellar built in the 17th century is used for Cabernet Franc, the exceptionally cold cellar temperatures protect the wine during élevage and contribute to the glacial development of the wines in bottle, only a modest dose of sulfur added before bottling, bottled without filtration or clarification
- TASTING NOTES: Now with over 17 years of age the 2008 is showing its full maturity and tertiary complexity, medium ruby-garnet color with purple reflections brightening toward the rim, the nose presents fine nuances of dried herbs and spices alongside fresh red cherries with delicate hints of tangerine zest, evolved aromas of stewed red fruits intermingle with green bell peppers, earthy mushroom, tobacco leaf, and damp gravel with subtle balsamic-nutty touches in the background, the palate is juicy with crunchy red cherry fruit, ripe tannins that are finesse-rich and tightly structured, medium-bodied with remarkable elegance despite the wine's depth, vibrant lively acidity provides tension and lift, mineral-salty finish that reflects the limestone terroir, good length despite its relative light-footedness compared to warmer vintages, the wine demonstrates the classic Loire Cabernet Franc profile with herbal undertones and refreshing energy, this library release showcases how well these wines age and develop complexity over time, the 2008 vintage—while challenging—rewarded patient growers and careful winemaking with wines displaying traditional balance and structure
- FOOD PAIRINGS: Beef stew and braised beef dishes, roasted game birds and venison, rich pasta dishes with meat ragù, BBQ meats and grilled steaks, duck confit and cassoulet, aged hard cheeses, mushroom-based preparations, herb-crusted lamb
Antoine Foucault and Caroline Boireau established Domaine du Collier in 1999, named after the Place du Collier where their family home is located in the commune of Brézé. Antoine is the son of the legendary Charly Foucault from Clos Rougeard, where he worked alongside his father and uncle from 1995 to 1999 before striking out on his own at age 26 by renting the La Ripaille vineyard. While Clos Rougeard built its reputation on age-worthy Cabernet Franc from Saumur-Champigny with Musigny-like elegance, Domaine du Collier has forged a dual identity—producing grand white wines that have become the estate's signature alongside compelling red wines from Cabernet Franc. The estate encompasses just under seven hectares of vines, with two-thirds planted to Chenin Blanc and the remaining third to Cabernet Franc in the important lieu-dits of La Ripaille and La Charpentrie, producing a mere 1,200 cases annually. Domaine du Collier has rapidly ascended from rising star status to join the ranks of Saumur's elite producers, earning three stars from La Revue du Vin de France. Antoine has remarked that while his background was in Saumur-Champigny, the majority of terroirs he farms are particularly suited to white wines with their stony, poor soils, and he has had to work harder to understand Cabernet Franc in these terroirs. These are regal, powerful wines brilliantly composed with precision—wines that often transcend grape variety in their deep expression of the limestone of Brézé.
- WINEMAKER: Antoine Foucault and Caroline Boireau
- FARMING: Certified Organic with biodynamic principles employed, no chemical fertilizers weed killers or fungicides, soils are worked through laboring to encourage vine roots to penetrate deep into the tuffeau bedrock with roots going several meters deep into the calcium-rich limestone, manual harvest with strict sorting carried out in the vineyards
- VARIETY: 100% Cabernet Franc from old vines (approximately 35 to 50 years of age at time of harvest)
- TERROIR: La Ripaille is a single west-facing lieu-dit located on the hillsides of Brézé in the Saumur appellation. The vineyard is situated within the historic grounds of Château de la Ripaille. The soil profile consists of approximately 1.5 meters of clay-silico-limestone topsoil over Turonian tuffeau limestone bedrock. The presence of tuffeau—a porous, chalky limestone used in the construction of the Loire's Renaissance architecture—results in finely mineral Cabernet Franc. The cold temperatures of Brézé combine with highly active calcium content in the soil to create wines with powerful acidic structures and pronounced minerality. The continental climate benefits from light precipitation due to the rain shadow effect of the Massif Armorican to the west. While this terroir is arguably more favorable to white wines, Antoine has refined his vinification approach over multiple vintages to extract the best from this challenging parcel for red wine production.
- VINIFICATION: Grapes are hand-harvested with severe sorting in the vineyard using sorting tables, spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts in barrel, all fermentation controlled naturally by underground cellar conditions, minimal intervention winemaking philosophy with no commercial yeasts, no sulfur added during vinification, extended maceration period to extract complexity while maintaining elegance
- AGING: Extended aging of 24 to 36 months without racking in Antoine's historic underground cellar system, aged in a combination of seasoned oak barrels and Stockinger foudres, Antoine utilizes two separate troglodytic cellars carved from tuffeau limestone—the high humidity cellar built in the 10th-12th century is used for Chenin Blanc while the low humidity, colder cellar built in the 17th century is used for Cabernet Franc, the exceptionally cold cellar temperatures protect the wine during élevage and contribute to the glacial development of the wines in bottle, only a modest dose of sulfur added before bottling, bottled without filtration or clarification
- TASTING NOTES: Now with over 17 years of age the 2008 is showing its full maturity and tertiary complexity, medium ruby-garnet color with purple reflections brightening toward the rim, the nose presents fine nuances of dried herbs and spices alongside fresh red cherries with delicate hints of tangerine zest, evolved aromas of stewed red fruits intermingle with green bell peppers, earthy mushroom, tobacco leaf, and damp gravel with subtle balsamic-nutty touches in the background, the palate is juicy with crunchy red cherry fruit, ripe tannins that are finesse-rich and tightly structured, medium-bodied with remarkable elegance despite the wine's depth, vibrant lively acidity provides tension and lift, mineral-salty finish that reflects the limestone terroir, good length despite its relative light-footedness compared to warmer vintages, the wine demonstrates the classic Loire Cabernet Franc profile with herbal undertones and refreshing energy, this library release showcases how well these wines age and develop complexity over time, the 2008 vintage—while challenging—rewarded patient growers and careful winemaking with wines displaying traditional balance and structure
- FOOD PAIRINGS: Beef stew and braised beef dishes, roasted game birds and venison, rich pasta dishes with meat ragù, BBQ meats and grilled steaks, duck confit and cassoulet, aged hard cheeses, mushroom-based preparations, herb-crusted lamb