Thierry Germain - Domaine des Roches Neuves : L'Echelier 2020

Characteristics and tasting advice for L'Echelier Blanc 2020 by Thierry Germain - Domaine des Roches Neuves

Tasting

Appearance

The wine displays a crystalline pale straw-yellow color, clear and luminous, reflecting excellent clarity.

Nose

The nose reveals lovely complexity, combining concentration and freshness. It offers fruity aromas of peach and pear, accompanied by floral notes of white flowers and citrus. Pure mineral nuances emerge, enhanced by subtle toasted touches from barrel aging.

Palate

The attack is straightforward, powerful and fruity. The palate expresses floral and white-fruit notes in a texture that is both rich and creamy, while maintaining great precision and surprising freshness. The finish is pure, clean and generous, with remarkable length highlighted by a persistent mineral salinity reminiscent of the limestone terroir.

Food and wine pairings

L'Echelier Blanc 2020 is an ideal match for fish in a creamy sauce, scallops, or grilled sea bream. It also pairs beautifully with roasted poultry, aged goat cheeses, as well as mushroom- and cream-based dishes.

Serving and cellaring

L'Echelier Blanc 2020 can be enjoyed now, but it also offers excellent aging potential thanks to its bright acidity, mineral structure and concentration. Serve between 10 and 12°C.

A Saumur Chenin Blanc combining power and finesse

The estate

The Domaine des Roches Neuves was founded in 1850 by the Duveau family in the village of Varrains, near Saumur in the Loire Valley. Thierry Germain and his wife Marie acquired the estate in 1992 and profoundly transformed the domaine’s philosophy. Starting in 2002, Thierry Germain converted the entire vineyard to biodynamic farming, marking a decisive turning point in the viticultural approach. Today, the estate spans 28 hectares divided into 61 parcels and is gradually being joined by Thierry and Marie’s children, Louis and Jeanne Germain. The estate is recognized as one of the Loire’s benchmark producers, praised by Revue du Vin de France and awarded five stars by Bettane & Desseauve.

The vineyard

L'Echelier Blanc 2020 comes from a walled clos of around 1 hectare, enclosed by 300-year-old stone walls, overlooking the Loire Valley in the Saumur appellation. The 70-year-old Chenin Blanc vines are planted on clay-sandy soils resting on a bedrock of Upper Turonian limestone just 30 centimeters below the surface. This shallow geological profile forces the roots to anchor deeply into the limestone, giving the wine its distinctive mineral expression. The vineyard is farmed under certified Biodyvin biodynamics, with a planting density of 6,500 vines per hectare from massal selection. Harvesting is carried out by hand.

The vintage

The year enjoyed a mild, wet winter that allowed water reserves to be replenished, followed by a favorable summer that enabled the grapes to reach optimal ripeness while preserving freshness and balance.

Winemaking and aging

After the hand harvest, the grapes for L'Echelier Blanc 2020 are gently pressed for 4 hours using a pneumatic press. Alcoholic fermentation takes place in 600-liter oval barrels with 52-millimeter-thick staves, using the vineyard’s indigenous yeasts, and lasts around 3 months. Aging then continues on fine lees for 9 months in the same vessels. All operations, from pressing to aging, are carried out at low temperature in underground cellars dug into limestone tuffeau. Sulfur is used minimally, only at bottling.

Grape variety

100% Chenin Blanc