Log in for prices and ordering

Clos de l’Écotard: The New Releases from a Rising Star

Clos de l’Écotard: The New Releases from a Rising Star

View the whole available range from Clos de l’Écotard here.

“Three white Saumurs are produced with the desire to carve magnificent sleek Chenins, stripped of all artifice. From La Haie Nardin to Pentes passing through the emblematic cuvée of Clos de l’Écotard, these whites are already among the greatest in Saumur.” La Revue du Vin de France
 
“… Wines that embody the best of Saumur’s new-wave style of white.” Jon Bonné, The New French Wines

When Thibaud Chevré joined his father Michel—long-term kemosabe of Roche Neuves’ Thierry Germain—in 2017, Clos de l’Écotard owned a single two-hectare parcel of Chenin Blanc in Courchamps. Today, the domaine is on the ladder and well on its way to becoming fully formed. Alongside the rocky, eponymous Clos de l’Écotard vineyard, Thibaud’s arrival has enabled the domaine to take control of the family’s vines in La Haie Nardin. Now they farm an additional four hectares in nearby Fosse-Bellay. This latter vineyard, an old clos on sand and clay, includes two hectares of Cabernet Franc, allowing the pair to expand their range into Saumur Rouge (with delicious results). There is also a sliver of Gamay and Grolleau Gris.
 
As you would expect from a team led by Roches Neuves’ long-standing ex-chef de culture—someone who must also share in the dazzling successes of that domaine—the vineyard work here is impeccable. The historical vineyards are certified organic (Ecocert) and managed biodynamically (although, mainly due to the red tape involved, the domaine has no plans to certify as biodynamic). The clos is completely ploughed by the domaine’s draft horse, Fleur. Natural grass growth is encouraged and the vines—instead of being trimmed at the top—are rolled á la Roches Neuves and in the style of Burgundy progressives Olivier Lamy and Charles Lachaux et al. Yields are restricted to four or five bunches per vine. Naturally, the grapes are harvested manually (rare in the Loire, where machine harvesting is the norm today).



Thibaut Chevré, May 2022, Artannes-sur-Thouet

The winery and stone cellar lie in the small village of Artannes-sur-Thouet, roughly six clicks from the Clos de l’Écotard vineyard. It’s a tiny place with room for only the barest of winemaking necessities, although the domaine keeps an over-ground refrigeration unit to chill the grapes to five degrees when they arrive. Regarding the winemaking, the fruit is whole-bunch pressed in an old basket press and fermentations are wild. Sometimes malo is partially blocked, sometimes not, depending on the vintage and pH levels. There is little or no sulphur during the vinification or élevage, just a touch at racking and bottling (60mg/L total). Fermentation begins in stainless steel tank, then moves to a mixture of oak foudre (incl. Stockinger) and used 500-litre barrels. To increase the complexity of the inventory, one or two new, low-chauffe barrels from different suppliers are purchased annually. Recently, two grès (sandstone) jars have entered the picture.
 
The legacy of a warm and dry vintage, the 2020 Chenins are stony, ripe and supple, with intense, well-balanced palates alongside graceful, textured length. Following our tasting here last year, we have shipped the domaine’s deliciously vibrant Saumur Brut and its first red wine, a 2021 Saumur Rouge, which is bouncing with red-fruited energy and refreshment. As the French would say, this is a domaine on form.

The Wines

Other Recent Releases

  • Babo
    Babo
    They say time flies when you are having fun. The 2023 vintage marks Babo’s 15th year cr...
    They say time flies when you are having fun. The 2023 vintage marks Babo’s 15th year crafting its delicious range of great-value Italian vino. And ...

    Read more

  • Domaine Theulot Juillot
    Domaine Theulot Juillot
    Today, we offer just our second allocation of wines from this impressive chalonnais gro...
    Today, we offer just our second allocation of wines from this impressive chalonnais grower. To recap, Nathalie Theulot inherited the family estate ...

    Read more

  • Lambert Wines
    Lambert Wines
    The 2023 vintage proved another excellent season for Luke Lambert and Rosalind Hall. Mu...
    The 2023 vintage proved another excellent season for Luke Lambert and Rosalind Hall. Much like the preceding two years, La Niña’s cool theme has tr...

    Read more

  • Egly-Ouriet
    Egly-Ouriet
    It’s been a while since we could offer a parcel of wine from arguably Champagne’s great...
    It’s been a while since we could offer a parcel of wine from arguably Champagne’s greatest grower (read greatest producer!) to our entire database....

    Read more

  • New at the Bar
    New at the Bar
    The newest Gin from this progressive Kyneton distillery is Animus’s riff on a London Dr...
    The newest Gin from this progressive Kyneton distillery is Animus’s riff on a London Dry Gin. Compared to their overproof core range of Gins, Octet...

    Read more

  • Noble Rot: Issue 33
    Noble Rot: Issue 33
    In this issue, Dan Keeling reports on a 25-vintage vertical of Romanée-Conti, organised...
    In this issue, Dan Keeling reports on a 25-vintage vertical of Romanée-Conti, organised by the domaine to mark the reprint of Richard Olney’s semin...

    Read more

  • Garagiste
    Garagiste
    “The quality of the Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs on offer here are exceptional,” wrote C...
    “The quality of the Chardonnays and Pinot Noirs on offer here are exceptional,” wrote Campbell Mattinson in Halliday’s Top 100 Wineries published l...

    Read more

  • Swinney Mourvèdre Rosé 2023
    Swinney Mourvèdre Rosé 2023
    How do you follow a wine described by Erin Larkin as “one of Australia’s greatest rosés...
    How do you follow a wine described by Erin Larkin as “one of Australia’s greatest rosés”; by Huon Hooke as “a super-serious rosé of character and i...

    Read more

  • Bachelet-Monnot
    Bachelet-Monnot
    A small but beautiful release from a domaine now widely considered among Burgundy’s eli...
    A small but beautiful release from a domaine now widely considered among Burgundy’s elite. Despite the season’s challenges, 2021 is a year of terri...

    Read more

View All Offers