Domaine Guiberteau Saumur Clos des Carmes Blanc 2020

Clos des Carmes is a Guiberteau monopole on the Brézé hill, one of three clos singled out last century as the finest on the slope.

The Brézé hill in Saumur holds at least nine historic walled clos, most of them still owned by the Château de Brézé. The writer Curnonsky picked out three for their quality, and the Guiberteau family own one of them, acquired by Romain's grandfather in 1955. The 2.6-hectare parcel faces south, mid-slope on the belly of the hill, and was replanted entirely with mass-selection cuttings by Romain's father in 2004. Only 0.8 hectares, cropped at 30 hl/ha, go into this bottling; the rest is declassified into the estate's Saumur Blanc and Brézé. The wine is whole-cluster pressed, fermented with indigenous yeasts in new, one- and two-year-old barrels, and aged 24 months on fine lees in cask, then held a further year in bottle because it is typically tighter than the Brézé cuvée.

Decant it now or wait five to ten years; serve at 10–12°C with roast chicken, veal or a mature hard cheese.

*Every effort is made to ensure the current vintage is accurate; however, variations can occur. If you are after a specific vintage, please contact us prior to ordering.