Les Poyeux is Clos Rougeard’s most seductive red — a single-vineyard Cabernet Franc that captures the domaine’s philosophy of patience, purity, and quiet intensity. Grown on a gently sloping site of sand and tuffeau (chalk-limestone) over deeper clay in Saumur-Champigny, the vineyard yields fruit that is naturally elegant rather than forceful. It is the middle ground between the structured power of Le Bourg and the supple charm of the estate’s “village” bottling, balancing fragrance with depth in perfect measure.
The vines average 50 years of age, farmed organically and with meticulous attention. Yields are kept low, the fruit hand-harvested and sorted in the vineyard. Fermentation is spontaneous with native yeasts in traditional vats, and the wine is aged for 18–24 months in French oak barrels, a small proportion new, with no fining or filtration.
In youth, Les Poyeux shows lifted aromas of raspberry, wild strawberry, redcurrant, and peony, wrapped in hints of sweet tobacco, graphite, and crushed stone. The palate is silky and pure, defined by fine, powdery tannins and a cool mineral thread that runs straight through the wine. Over time — often two decades or more — it evolves with haunting complexity: truffle, dried herbs, cedar, and forest floor, all carried on that same calm, lingering freshness.
This is Cabernet Franc at its most articulate — graceful yet assured, fragrant yet profound. Les Poyeux embodies what makes Clos Rougeard so revered: wines that speak softly but leave a lasting echo, revealing that true power lies not in weight, but in precision and time.
