WTN: In memoriam - Charly Foucault - Poyeux 1996

I haven't seen it reported here that "Charly" Foucault died during the night of last Monday to Tuesday. Charly with his brother "Nady" were responsible for raising their estate to its present eminence, where its Cabernet franc based reds are perhaps the best regarded and certainly the most expensive in the Loire valley (Wine Searcher quotes €160 for this one). Their Chenin based whites, appellation Saumur, are also excellent.

1996 Clos Rougeard (Foucault) Saumur-Champigny Les Poyeux - France, Loire Valley, Anjou-Saumur, Saumur-Champigny (12/30/2015)
Opened in memory of Charly Foucault; RIP! I have thought previous bottles excellent but more Bordelais than Loire in character with their suave but discreet oak patina. No longer so atypical in its 20th year. Colour is still deep carmine with hardly any bricking. Nose was beautifully developed with refined aromas containing a lot of ripe raspberry but also that typical Loire touch, but very discreet here, of charcoal and bell pepper. On the the medium++ bodied palate, there was fine depth of fruit, continuation of the aromas from the nose, some flinty minerals, fresh acidity and a velvety texture leading to a long, full and fragrant finish. By now all traces of oak ageing were fully integrated. Excellent.

Posted from CellarTracker

RIP!

Nice thought Tim, no wines from Charly here sorry to say. .

[David M. Bueker]

I have only ever had a few of their wines, but they were always delicious. There is one bottle of 2010 in the cellar that will rest for quite a while.

I did not understand the crazy run up in demand and pricing, as I did not see the qualitative gap between Rougeard and say Baudry. I hope the brothers reaped some of that bounty!

RIP Charly.

I did not understand the crazy run up in demand and pricing, as I did not see the qualitative gap between Rougeard and say Baudry. I hope the brothers reaped some of that bounty!

I agree that there is no quality differential to justify the extraordinary pricing of the Clos Rougeard range compared with the likes of Baudry.

At €160 for the 1996, Poyeux is priced higher than most Médoc super seconds, with the exception of Léoville-Lascases and Ducru. It can be argued (correctly IMO) that the Rougeard quality is, in its own style, in a similar league to that of super seconds but, then, those prices are crazy too.

Lets hope that the prices of other top quality Loire producers stay earthbound. However, at Saumur-Champigny, I notice that the prices of recent vintages of the admirable Thierry Germain's top cuvées now cost between €30 & 40 and I have also noticed that, at Chinon, Charles Joguet was recently asking c.€40 for his 2009 Dioterie or Chêne Vert. I think that Baudry's Croix-Boissée is still in the early €20s. Nevertheless, all these prices still look very good compared with comparable quality at Bordeaux. However, I don't think that I have ever paid more than €10 ex-cellar for a Saumur-Champigny from René-Noël Legrand in his prime; his '89 VV ran this Poyeux very close in a less sophisticated style but his quality was less consistent.