93-95 points Vinous Media
Drinking window: 2026 - 2036
The 2022 Saumur Blanc, which Foucault calls his “domaine" wine, has held up incredibly well despite the warm, dry conditions of the vintage. This barrel sample offers up notable delicacy. Its purity and clarity is second to none, with very fine detail. Yes, there's a sense of flesh on the mid-palate, and it's certainly more charming than the chiseled 2021, but it remains precise and delicate. The 2022 won't be released until 2025. I can't wait to get some.

Antoine and his partner, Caroline Foucault, had been working towards taking over Clos Rougeard, the family estate. However, just weeks after Antoine Foucault’s father passed from cancer, his uncle sold the estate to the Bouygues brothers. They haven't spoken since, and the sale remains raw. Foucault’s father would surely have been proud of what Antoine and Caroline have created since purchasing Domaine du Collier in 2015 and making their first vintage in 2017. The domaine has a wonderful network of cellars around 40 meters below the ground, where the wines ferment and then age for two years in barrel before another year in bottle before release. Both whites and reds are thoughtful, intricate wines that exude a sense of effortlessness. They are finely detailed, harmonious and thankfully a little less expensive than Clos Rougeard. - Rebecca Gibb May 2024

Soil: Clay topsoil with tuffeaux subsoil
Viticulture: soils are worked to send roots down into the calcium rich tuffeaux. Hand harvested with severe sorting.
Vinification: Fermentation with natural yeasts in barrel.
Ageing: 24-36 month extended ageing without racking in a very cold underground cellar in a combination of young barrels and some Stonginger brand foudres.

Importer:
Antoine Foucault established Domaine du Collier in 1999 with his companion Caroline Boireau. Today they farm nearly 7 hectares of vines, produce a mere 1,250 cases of wine, and have surpassed rising star status to join the ranks of top growers in Saumur. Antoine cut his teeth at the famed Clos Rougeard in Saumur-Champigny, working with his father and uncle, Charly and Nady Foucault. Then, at age 26, Antoine set out on his own to create Domaine du Collier. Two-thirds of the estate is planted to Chenin, most of which are old vines and some pushing 100 years of age. The remaining third is planted to Cabernet Franc, namely in the important lieu-dits of La Ripaille and La Charpentrie.  

Antoine has remarked that while his background was in Saumur Champigny, the majority of the terroirs he currently farms are particularly suited to white wines with their stony, poor soils. He has had to work harder to understand Cabernet Franc in these terroirs, while the Chenin has flourished and has come to him a bit easier. Different than Clos Rougeard whose reputation was built primarily on age-worthy Cabernet Francs of sometimes Musigny-like elegance, the identity of Domaine du Collier is rooted in the grand whites of Chenin Blanc from the limestone-rich hillsides of Brézé. 

Antoine works the vineyards organically, adamantly avoiding the use of chemical fertilizers or weed killers. The soils are worked to send roots into the chalky tuffeau, and grapes are hand harvested with intense sorting. A natural approach is carried into the cellar with a commitment to wild yeast fermentation, extended ageing of 24 to 36 months without racking in a very cold underground cellar, and zero sulfur until bottling.

Antoines desire to truly understand and express his terroirs is evident in the wines, which have garnered the attention and admiration of Cabernet Franc devotees and Chenin cognoscenti with their power, mineral character, and ethereal lift. They are complex and powerful without lacking delicacy and precision. These are wines that often transcend grape variety in their deep expression of the limestone of Brézé. We have only seen the beginning of what Antoine Foucault and these terroirs are capable of!