Clos Rougeard, Saumur-Champigny, Les Poyeux

An iconic expression of Cabernet Franc that balances weightlessness with quiet authority. Vivid and juicy, it flows effortlessly across the palate, driven by bright acidity and fine, precise structure. Classic notes of green bell pepper and fresh herbs intertwine with crunchy red fruit, giving the wine both character and lift. Serious yet irresistibly drinkable, this is Cabernet Franc in its purest, most compelling form — a wine whose legendary status is fully earned.

2010 vintage

Nez légèrement fermier, mais peu de ce type de notes en bouche. Une belle finesse, un grand équilibre, assez long en finale. Une finale légèrement tendue qui s’harmonise mieux avec le plat que bu seul.

2010 vintage

Que c’est beau! Que c’est payant d’attendre ses Rougeard. Ce 2010 est parfaitement en place, tout en finesse et en équilibre, encore énormément de puissance et de persistance. Grand vin!

2010 vintage

Extras de la verticale du domaine Jamet (Restaurant Monsieur B) : À l'aveugle, avant la verticale Jamet. Frais et pimpant, beaucoup de finesse et d’élégance, je croyais à un vin beaucoup plus jeune. Il laisse une impression de pureté et d’élégance. 92 pts

2010 vintage

Elegant and floral, lifted and not too green. The regular Clos had too much bell pepper for me but this was just right. Balanced and all class. Stool tall in a field of unicorns.

2010 vintage

Very elegant. Fruit and smoke notes on the palate. Not much grassy note like typical Cabernet franc. Velvet texture, very sophisticated

2010 vintage

Internationale du Gout - Vertical series #2: 6 Vintages of Clos Rougeard Poyeux (Casa Humblot, Tana Merah) : Between this and the '14 it is very close. Blue fruit. May a bit more power here but this is marginal. Pine needle and menthol on the nose and faint VA. I loved the bits i could discern here that oozed breed. I feel this was holding back though and may be would have benefitted from some decanting. Like the '14, the …

2010 vintage

Dinner at palfr's. Drank in Spiegelau Definition Bordeaux. Appearance is clear, medium intensity, ruby colour with thin garnet rim. Legs. Nose medium+ intensity, with aromas of lifted polish ?VA, animal brett, nice pyrazine, herbs and spice, mint, dark red cherries, more earthy with more air. Developing. On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium alcohol (12.5% on label), smooth medium tannins, medium+ body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of sweet dark licorice, pyrazine herb and mint, dark red cherries, blueberry, elegant …

2010 vintage

Clos Rougeard Les Poyeux vertical : Slight hint of bell pepper and VA on the nose. As with 2010s in other regions, this was impeccably balanced; supple dark red fruit that was accompanied by a sensual textural elegance. Better midpalate and depth than the '11 so this was my WOTN.

2010 vintage

Fin de semaine au lac à la Galette; 6/22/2025-6/23/2025 : Nez parfumé floral, fumé, pas de poivron. Très belle texture aérienne, élégante, il a du fruit et de la fraîcheur, une finesse de tanins admirable. La finale est longue, elle s’étire sans effort, en délicatesse, avec une fruité noir presque jeune encore. Une telle suavité est émouvante. Chapeau aux deux fadas! 93-94 pts

2010 vintage

Gorgeous nose, so deep and complex, with dark cherries, violets, cassis, bell pepper, earth, smoke, and pine needles. Good acidity with lots of dark fruit, some red berries, more cherries, floral notes, and underwood on the palate. Long finish. Wow, this is drinking so well already! Perfect now but should age for decades more. What a great wine! 97+

2010 vintage

Souper avec les Lafarge (2025) : Wow! L’éclat et la pureté du fruit sont magnifiques. De texture légère et aérienne, c’est un doux balai sur les papilles, avec une finesse idéale. Quel équilibre et surtout quel plaisir! Une subtilité indicible. Tellement léger, mais d’une longueur aromatique incroyable. 95 pts Frédéric nous confie qu'ils n'avaient jamais goûté de Clos Rougeard, on a donc tapé dans le mille. Il a hasardé Saint-Émilion, ce qui n'était pas fou.

2010 vintage

I will admit I am a bit biased towards this producer and this was not a blind tasting but this wine really knocked my socks off. This wine does not drink like a 15 year old wine. It’s closed out of the bottle and opened up nicely over 2 hours of drinking. Compared to the normal “les clos” this “les Poyeux” is more refined, graceful and complex. Medium in body but pronounced on the pallet, nose and with a long …

2010 vintage

Classic Loire cabernet franc nose with bell pepper, dark fruit, cassis, and black cherries. Lovely palate with good balance, more dark fruit, and good structure. Nice and lingering finish. Lovely wine that's drinking well right now but is still youthful and should continue to improve with age.

2010 vintage

(CdV) 4 rouges grandioses ce soir-là, mais alors celui-là, tout particulièrement … Quand le verre s’approche, et qu’on s’attend (vin non carafé) à un vin un peu fermé, et… la rose est d’emblée très émouvante ! Nez précis, classieux, élégant, racé, complexe, alliant floralité, fruité, epices, sous-bois, avec tour à tour de la mousse, un poivron fin, de la fraise, du poivre, un menthol éthéré, tout par petites touches, sans fard, pur, léger, nuancé, un summum d’élégance! En bouche, l’architecture …

2010 vintage

Cherry, flowers and spice on the nose. I would guess high quality red Burgundy here, though there is also just a touch of green from the Cab Franc to distinguish it. Very silky. Excellent wine.

2010 vintage

Huge nose of petale de roses, very delicate and animal, very feminine, cerise griotte rouge, tres salin… Huge freshness, feminine, delicate, sappy cherries, petales de roses, incredibly complex!!

2010 vintage

There's little doubt Clos Rougeard produces the finest Cabernet Franc wines in the Loire. As always an effortless completeness. This is just beginning to drink well I'd say but there's plenty of time for this to improve. 94 now and will rise I anticipate.

2010 vintage

Served blind. The green herbal notes on the nose with a medium weight body reminded me of a 2011 burgundy. Once this was dismissed, that peppercorn finish clued me into cab franc. I guessed Baudry 2012 as it had a little brett. I was indeed surprised to see this was a 2010, as I didn’t feel it had quite the ripeness I would expect.

2010 vintage

Blind fail. Thought it was a bretty Italian. There's a little brett there but this has leafy tobacco herbal notes in spades but with a polish and elegance unique to Rougeard.

2010 vintage

Lovely nose with quite savory notes, some red currants, spices, a bit of flowers, dark cherries, and bell pepper. Nice acidity with tart red fruit, more cherries, a bit of earth and forest notes, and a hint of smoke on the palate. Long finish. This is drinking beautifully right now. Well balanced with quite integrated tannins and some tertiary flavors, but it will surely continue to evolve for a long time.

2010 vintage

My last bottle, decanted for 60 min, color dark red, nose all you can think of with Cabernet Franc, truly delicious, tannins tamed, aftertaste long. A masterpiece.

2010 vintage

Seems tired , not what it used to be😱

2010 vintage

On Day 1, despite three hours of decanter time, the wine was tight with little fruit. Maybe some balance, but not impressive. Did not improve for the evening. Put the rest under argon. Day 2. This is much much improved. As if it has woken from a long nap. Intense berry nose with excellent concentration on the palate. i received the bottles a month or so ago, and so while I thought it had enough time to rest, perhaps it …

2010 vintage

Épaulé deux heures à l'avance. Tanins complètement fondus, il ne me semble pas destiné à une plus longue garde. C’est très délicat, frais et suave, d'une magnifique finesse. Exquis! 94 pts

2010 vintage

The 2010 Clos Rougeard was so fine and expressive with bell pepper, herbs, red fruit, cassis and tobacco. Palate was silky and smoothe with excellent transperency. Drinking very well already.

2010 vintage

Quintessential Rougeard. Palate is so luscious and elegant. Weight without heaviness. Still seems surprisingly young.

2010 vintage

(CdV) Quelle finesse et quelle densité! Fruits noirs, sous-bois, mousse de chêne, petit pois, on est bien en Loire! En bouche, l’acidité est prononcée, la tension réveille la finale, et le grain, le grain est fin, racé.

2010 vintage

BYOB lunch in The Spectator boardroom hosted by Jonathan Ray (The Spectator's drinks editor). Limited notes in the main! My contribution. We drank this last in the red flight which was the right decision (although not good for decipherable note taking)! Barely starting to show its full potential in my view and confirming my guesstimate of a 2025 hold-till date. Should easily hold up 25yrs from vintage. 2025-2035. 94+ potential.

2010 vintage

Nose as fruity as herbaceous. Mouth powerful enough for a Cabernet Franc, on a bright red fruit, sprinkled with spices and a touch of cedar. Juice served by a fine acidity, it is very aromatic, quite dense and enchantingly charming. Nice fresh and spicy finish on a good length. Excellent

2010 vintage

Wine Workshop: Focus on Clos Rougeard (Cafe Evergreen) : Makes me very happy to realize that we have collecting a reasonable number of these because I do like the 2010s. There’s a bit more intensity here, a bit more darkness in the fruit, more spice. Very well balanced. Almost a clove-like style to it. Great.

2010 vintage

Wine Workshop: Focus on Clos Rougeard (Cafe Evergreen) : Fruity and fresh and lovely and herbal and a bit just class to this wine. It’s one of my favorites. Always love 2010s (in general, first time with the 2010 of this wine) and this was showing fantastically well. Super long life ahead of it.

2010 vintage

Nose of sweet spices and bright red fruit. Mouth with an Olympic freshness but above all very sensual: a fine integrated woodiness, a crunchy acidulous fruit sprinkled with spices, silky texture and a very slight vegetal touch. It is flawlessly serene, sapid and precise. Perfect balance where in the second half of the mouth the green peppercorns clearly dominate. Final on the violet which stretches all in delicacy in an impressive way. Very nice Poyeux.

2010 vintage

An amazing wine, decanted for 60 min. all in fine order, Cabernet Franc as it should be, a thrill, one bottle left of 5! My collection is now only 4 bottles, 2 Le Bourg, one Poyeux and this one all ready to drink. Not getting those anymore, sadly.

2010 vintage

A powerful cabernet franc that tasted like a Right Bank Bordeaux. Fresh, redcurrant, cassis, structured, medium acidity and medium tannin. Layered and very long finish. We paired it with a bottle of 1997 Chapoutier Ermitage l'Ermite, and this Clos Rougeard completely sank the Ermitage.

2010 vintage

Ouvert 3 heures à l'avance. Nez frais et ouvert d'intensité moyenne -, tout en délicatesse, complexité de petits fruits rouges, poivron rouge confit, élevage est totalement intégré Je n'avais avais encore jamais senti auparavant un Cabernet Franc d'un tel niveau. La bouche était à la fois fraiche et sensuelle mais d'une densité et acidité qui laisse présager une belle avenir. Les tannins étaient savoureux et la longueur d'environ 30 sec. Je dois avouer que j'attendais beaucoup de cette cuvée et …

2010 vintage

Was showing well upon opening and continued to get better in bottle over the course of 3 hours. The nose was unlike any cab franc I've had before and way more expressive and layered than even the entry Rougeard. Also on the nose was a whiff of freshly baked buttermilk biscuits (call me crazy), others in the party described it a little bit like pepperoni. Towards the end of the night the wine got just a tad sweeter, probably indicating …

2010 vintage

Nez expressif sur les epices, les fruits rouges, le bois de sental Bouche suave, un peu trop même, ça manque un brin de structure Cependant les aromes enchantent Finale de belle longueur, beau fruit, tannins absent. Au début j’adorais, au final je le trouve vieux mais bon

2010 vintage

I have only had this wine once in a restaurant called Uformel it was nice but not something I would go for. Somehow I was blessed by a danish wine compagny which sold me 12 bottles from this producer 3 Whites Breze, 5 straight Saumur Champigny and 2 of each Le Bourg, Les Poyeux. Some story all vintage 2010, in between this it was sold and prices skyrocket. All Whites are gone long ago, have tasted the straight twice amazing …

2010 vintage

Again I'm stunished this wine is so pure elegant and charming, same league as BAMA we had the other day in vintage 2005. No sign of wood just plain seduction on a high level.

2010 vintage

This had less focus and delineation than the single vineyard Clos Rougeard wines served beside it. But it was the more accessible of the younger Clos Rougeard tonight. I enjoyed it, dark fruit and not obstructed by tannin, though it was up against stiff competition with 06 Le Bourg being an absolute stunner.

2010 vintage

Medium garnet in the glass. Wonderful freshness on the first sniff, that Cab Franc typicity really coming out off the bat, but there is so much underneath this layer of primary characteristics as well. Beautiful structure and balance with much life left. If you stored this well, you shall be rewarded.

2010 vintage

Encore une fois, quel beau vin ! Tout en fraîcheur, en finesse, du petit fruits rouge a profusion suivi d'une touche végétale mais vraiment subtil. C'est fin, extrêmement précis et équilibré, dans une très belle phase en ce moment. Grand vin !

2010 vintage

The nose on the 2010 Clos Rougeard is pretty heavy on the red pepper jelly. Also some leather and pomegranate. Medium-light body with bright acidity.

2010 vintage

Ouvert trois heures à l’avance, c’était suffisant. Spectaculaire exemplaire de cette cuvée, le vin est aérien, avec un trait minéral extraordinaire en milieu de bouche. Finale d’une grande longueur et complexité, avec une finesse de grand vin. 93-94 pts Son seul défaut fut d’être renversée sur la terre du camping, à cause d’un touriste (moi) qui le laissa sur le sol trop près des enfants, ne nous laissant qu’un quart à savourer.

2010 vintage

Nez indéniablement cab franc de la Loire sur le poivron rouge, gouleyant et frais il est franchement agréable mais d'une complexité limitée dans ce millésime.

2010 vintage

Classic green pepper. Really fine smooth texture and balance. This is in a great spot with an easy-going effortless feel to it. Great vintage of this wine.

2010 vintage

The nose of this indicated decline, or at least a much older wine, with particular notes of prune rather than the expected red and dark berries. The bottle was purchased by a merchant a couple of years ago so may not have been kept very well. But in the mouth it was fresh, well balanced and very smooth. Would have been 93-94 if not for the nose. I've had much better examples of the wine, although not this vintage.

2010 vintage

Nez envoutant et excessivement complexe de fruits rouges, de notes animales et végétales. En bouche, le vin est complexe mais sans être lourd, sur de multiples couches de saveurs et d'une longueur impressionnante. Encore très jeune mais déjà un grand vin!

2010 vintage

Dark, black core. Nose of pomegranate, kirsche, black cherry, tar spice, an early crushed herb note which blew off. Silky, supple, and very long. Dark berries, sour cherry pip, cool crushed herbal spice, dark tar spice. Long long finish, super smooth. Very fine tannins, hardly noticeable. Absolutely delicious.

2010 vintage

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Clos Rougeard, Saumur-Champigny, Les Poyeux

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