Arnaud Lambert 'Clos Mazurique', Brézé, Saumur, Loire Valley, France 2022

Arnaud Lambert 'Clos Mazurique' Brézé, Saumur, Loire Valley, France

While Arnaud’s family hails from the Loire, he is the first in his lineage to produce wine under the family’s name. He dry-farms organically (certified!) on the hill of Brézé, a unique elevated terroir predominantly planted on tuffeau soils, with a mix of clay, over a hard limestone bedrock. He strives to showcase the terroir of each vineyard he farms, which is why he creates so many different bottlings of Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc. 

• Winemaker: Arnaud Lambert
• Variety: Cabernet Franc
  
• Farming: Organic (certified)
• Vine Age: 40+ Years
  
• Terroir: Tuffeau limestone bedrock with 50cm dark topsoil composed of alluvium (silex and other rocks) with clay.
  
• Vinification: Vinified completely destemmed in concrete tanks with 2/3 of short maceration for 8-10 days (first 3-4 days, twice per day, then once per day), 1/3 with three weeks with infusion extraction (after first 3 days no more extractions). Maximum of 24°C fermentation temperature. Sulfites added only at bottling.
  
• Aging: Aged in concrete with sometimes 2-3 rackings. Two bottlings: April and June. 
• Tasting Notes (from Importer): There are few wines in the world that carry this level of class, sophistication and low price. Straight out of the gates this Cabernet Franc overflows with perfumes of red and dark cherry, persian mulberry, persimmon, mandarin orange, strongly-scented red and white flowers, gravel, wet forest and minerals. Yes, this little guy is extremely complex!
  

From our Aug 2021 Explorer Club Notes:

    Damn, we love Arnaud Lambert. Back in 2019, months before we opened DECANTsf, we had the privilege of hosting Arnaud Lambert at Simi’s apartment where he opened about 12 of his  wines. We were enamored with the style and grace of each bottle and the quiet charisma of this humble man who works every day to bring the reputation of Saumur, a winegrowing region within the Loire Valley, and the tiny hamlets of Bréze and Saint-Cyr-en-Bourg within, to heights never before imagined. 

    This wine hails from the hill of Brézé, a once-neglected vineyard area where myriad growers sold their crops to local cooperatives to be blended away as grocery store wines labeled simply as Vin de France, or maybe as Saumur if it was particularly good. His family has been working in the region for decades and father Yves began the Domaine de Saint-Just in 1997, and in 2009 the Lamberts signed a 25-year contract with Château de Brézé, the ramsackle estate sitting at the hilltop, whose greatness had been lost to a generation of disuse. With this contract, the Arnaud was able to get access to under-appreciated vineyards in a prime location. A few other top producers were noticing the potential of this hill and began sourcing from here as well (you may have heard of Domaine Guiberteau and the legendary Clos Rougeard). In 2017, Arnaud merged the two estates and began his eponymous label. 

    We’ve always been a fan of Lambert’s Chenin Blanc, but whenever we taste his red wines of Cabernet Franc we are just so happy, especially beacuse Cara has a love-hate relationship with Cabernet Franc. The styles really are producer-dependent— the natty producers show off super light styles reminiscent of potpourri and those old strawberry hard candies from the bottom of grandma’s purse. Incredibly classic producers showcase the natural spiciness of dusty tomato leaf and red bell pepper. In Napa Valley, Cab Franc can taste like chocolate-covered cherries! It’s hard to know what you’re going to get. But Arnaud Lambert makes Cara’s favorite style— silky, supple, and warming with dark cherry, violets, blood orange, cocoa powder, and a deep earthiness like fresh turned topsoil, all with freshness retained by vinifying and aging in stainless steel. The vines are over 40 years in age which directly contributes to the complexity, and everything is of course completely organic. Yes, you can refer to this bottle as an entry-point to the greatness of Lambert, but you can also treat it as a top-level example of what Brézé has to offer now and what we can only imagine will happen in the future. 

    Try this beauty with some lamb gyros, a simple summer burger from the grill, or perhaps a spinach and mushroom quiche! —Cara Patricia