Domaine Arnaud Lambert - Terres Rouges Saumur-Champigny | French Red Wine

The vineyards that make up this charming and utterly delicious wine come from Saumur-Champigny’s most southern hill, Saint-Cyr-en-Bourg. Les Terres Rouges is composed of numerous small plots blended into one larger south-facing vineyard area, just across from the now famous hill, Brézé. The southern aspect gives the wine plenty of needed sunshine in a region that has a long, drawn out growing season that can bring several rain storms in early fall, just about the time they are getting ready to harvest. This privileged location makes for consistent ripening of the wine’s plush black and red fruits.

The fragrant dark earth notes of Cabernet Franc give the impression of black soils unearthed from a thick overlay of wet forest moss, grass and bramble. Despite this dark soil impression and its name (which translates to “the red soils”), the soil is light brown clay with alluvial sands resting on a bed of stark white limestone. The cool harvest conditions, clay and limestone soils, and a life spent in stainless steel tanks renders this wine medium bodied with a clean and refreshing finish. Indeed, the sand plays its part as well bringing the fruits and flowers in the bouquet to the ethereal realm.