Breze

In the glass

Aroma: quince, honeysuckle, wet stone, beeswax, lemon blossom

Palate: yellow apple, pear, saline mineral, long honeyed finish

The Foucault brothers' cult Chenin Blanc from the Breze hillside at Coteaux de Saumur. Dense, mineral and lanolin-textured, with quince and beeswax built for two decades of cellaring.

What it pairs with

• Roast turbot with beurre blanc
  Loire butter sauce and the wine's pear-and-saline length are aligned.
• Veal blanquette with morels
  Cream and mushroom meet the wine's honeyed beeswax register.
• Mature Comte 30 months
  Crystalline nutty cheese sharpens the wine's mineral length.
• Roast poularde de Bresse with truffle
  Luxurious poultry and the wine's full-bodied honeyed register align elegantly.

History

Breze is Clos Rougeard's cult white from the steep Breze hillside, source of the a profound Chenin Blanc white. The Foucault brothers established the modern cuvee in the late 1980s; the parcel continues under the Bouygues family.

1. 1988: First vintage of the modern Breze Chenin

Facts

Producer

Clos Rougeard · visiting guide

Grapes

Chenin Blanc (100%)

Classification

Saumur AOC

Oak

16 to 20 months in oak barriques on lees, around 25 percent new

ABV

13.0%

Price

EUR 250 to 600 at retail

Drinking window

8 to 30 from vintage

First vintage

1988

Organic

ORGANIC CERTIFIED

Vegan

Yes (no animal-derived fining)

Frequently asked about Breze

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