Domaine Guiberteau Saumur Rouge 2022

Caressing
Warmed dark cherries
Peppercorn dance

Made entirely from destemmed grapes, this fruit-forward bottling fermented naturally in concrete before spending 12 months in large tronçonique barrels.

Riding the crest of a new wave, Romain Guiberteau has emerged as one of Saumur’s brightest talents. Much like Stéphane Moreau in Chablis, Guiberteau gave up a promising career outside the realm of wine to return to his family’s vineyards where he was fortunate to inherit a patrimony of top-notch, old-vine holdings spread across the communes of Montreuil-Bellay, Épieds and some wonderful parcels in Saumur’s de facto grand cru of Brézé including the historic Clos des Carmes.

Guiberteau was mentored by local legend Nady Foucault of Clos Rougeard fame and has been equally inspired by Thierry Germain of Domaine des Roches Neuves. He is also a very good friend of Benjamin Dagueneau, another producer that has influenced his work. The inspiration provided by these great growers, plus the sheer quality of Guiberteau’s brilliant sites, is reflected in his penetrating, intense whites and reds. The whites are some of the most refined and snowflake-pure renditions of Chenin Blanc that we have tasted while the reds take Cabernet Franc to a rare level of elegance and texture. In short, a profound lineup from one of the most exciting of the Loire’s young turks. Surely, at last, a new age of Saumur is upon us!