2011 Clos Rougeard Saumur Blanc BrézéBY NEAL MARTIN | MAY 09, 2022It was actually during a visit to Ducru-Beaucaillou that I chanced upon this week’s Cellar Favourite. Entertaining a fellow wine scribe for lunch, proprietor Bruno Borie invited me to choose their pre-prandial white before I had to shoot off to another appointment. I was inquisitive about a mature bottle from Clos Rougeard, the famed Loire producer, from the period when it was still owned by Charlie and Nady Foucault, prior to its sale to Martin and Olivier Bouygues in 2017. I chose well!<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1651613149528-clos+rougeard+breze+2011.jpg">The 2011 Saumur Blanc Brézé comes from 100-year-old Chenin Blanc vines. It has a limpid silvery hue. The bouquet is, frankly, to die for; a cornucopia of scents: almond, quince, jasmine, Japanese yuzu and honeysuckle are all beautifully defined. The palate displays exquisite balance, a perfect line of acidity, taut and fresh, yet there is real weight in the mouth. Wonderful cohesion, there is just a faint suggestion of Mont Blanc towards the finish. À point, there is nothing here to suggest that this won’t give another 20- or 30-years’ drinking pleasure. 94/Drink 2022-2047.

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