When Thierry Germain first put down roots in Saumur in the 1990s, he fashioned voluptuous and oak-heavy wines that, while true to his own Bordelais origins, spoke less of their Loire Valley terroir. But by the end of the decade all that had changed. After falling under the spell of Charly Foucault at Clos Rougeard and Burgundy’s Lalou Bize-Leroy, Thierry quickly converted his estate, Domaine des Roches Neuves, to organics and used gentler extractions and less oak influence to fashion increasingly fragrant and finessed Cabernet Francs and chiselled Chenin Blancs. Today, Thierry farms 28ha of vines (all certified biodynamic since 2005), which are divided across more than 30 parcels across Saumur and Saumur-Champigny. It’s rare to find Thierry’s wines with bottle age – rarer still to see them at this market-beating price.
