Antoine Sanzay, 2010 Saumur-Champigny 'Les Poyeux'

No.6 | What’s in my Glass

Bonjour from the Loire!

I am in the Cabernet Franc motherland for the next handful of days for the trade tasting salons. This is my second time doing this dog and pony show, and I couldn't be more elated to be here. I mean, where else in the world could you taste this much Cabernet Franc over the course of a four day period? No where.

Since arriving, in the span of just a few hours, I’ve had the pleasure of enjoying a Crémant de Loire (traditional method) sparkling rosé of 100% Cabernet Franc from Saumur, a glass of Bourgueil ‘Les Aubuis’ from Aurélien Revillot, a 2010 Saumur-Champigny from Antoine Sanzay’s Les Poyeux parcels, and un petit ‘night cap’ of Chinon Rosé from Château du Petit Thouars.

This is heaven.

This evening at dinner I enjoyed a bottle of 2010 Saumur-Champigny ‘Les Poyeux’ from Antoine Sanzay. I have always thought of tasting older Loire Cabernet Franc as a privilege, and this bottle was not different.

From possibly the most iconic vineyard in Saumur-Champigny, this Les Poyeux from Antoine Sanzay was outstanding. It had just the right balance of primary and tertiary elements - plenty of dark fruit character and varietal spice, along with a bit of forest floor, mushroom, and a touch of cured tobacco. If you are a lover of great Right Bank Bordeaux, I don’t have a doubt you would love this bottle. While I loved the fruit profile, this wine was all about the structure. It was full, plush, and brimming with energy. Given the wine’s concentration and marked tannins, I would say that it is in line with other 2010 Loire Cabernet Francs I’ve had recently. That is to say, keep those babies tucked in your cellar for a while longer. While the 2009s are drinking marvellously at the moment, the 2010s still need a bit of time to come into their own.

With this wine I am reminded that we are seriously under-estimating the aging potential of Loire Cabernet Francs. While these wines are so pleasurable, accessible and delicious in their youth, they have the potential to gain so much complexity and intrigue with time in the bottle. Thankfully, with a wine like this at around $50USD a bottle for the current vintage, it is actually somewhat attainable to get a few bottles and tuck them away (particularly compared to other wines of this caliber from Burgundy or Bordeaux).

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From the Archives!

If you’re interested to learn more about Antoine Sanzay and Les Poyeux, check out my video on his 2017 vintage.