Exploring Les Poyeux in Saumur-Champigny

No.55 | Vineyard in Focus

Les Poyeux. Quite possibly the most famous Cabernet Franc vineyard in the Loire Valley? Perhaps even in the world? I would argue, yes. Thanks to the reputation of Clos Rougeard and the domaine’s meteoric rise to fame in the mid-2000s, this rather unassuming yet highly regarded vineyard was thrust into the spotlight. Though with eighteen vignerons owning parcels across this expansive vineyard, it is worth taking a closer look at what defines the terroir of Les Poyeux.

Les Poyeux’s historical significance dates to the early 1800s with some of the earliest accounts of the high quality wines coming from this lieu-dit dating to this time. However, there is nothing demarcating this prestigious site. Not a structure, a wall, not even a sign. In fact, you’d be hard pressed to even realize you are driving “through” Les Poyeux within a couple hundred meters of exiting the roundabout from the D93 to the D205 on your way from Varrains to the hamlet of Champigny.

Size Matters

The lieu-dit Les Poyeux spans a total of 44 hectares (that’s 108 acres, my American friends!), and is situated in the eastern part of the commune of Chacé in Saumur-Champigny. In fact, this lieu-dit accounts for a little over a quarter of the delineated vineyard area of Chacé. Suffice it to say, this is a very large vineyard. And perhaps it is not surprising that the “terroir” of a vineyard of this size will be by no means homogenous.

Based on conversations I’ve had with vignerons, my own research and having walked this lieu-dit on several occasions, Les Poyeux can be divided into roughly three main sections. Firstly, we have the part of the lieu-dit that lies north of the D205, which is about 30 hectares in size and can be divided into two parts.

Les Hauts Poyeux (blue), the “heart” of Les Poyeux (purple), Les Bas Poyeux (orange)

The most northerly section of the vineyard is often informally referred to as “Les Hauts Poyeux.” This area is about 10 hectares in size, and the elevation ranges from around 42 to 64m above sea level, and these parcels tend of have a slight northwestern exposure. Generally speaking, with the nature of this exposure and the soils (explained below), this section is a little bit cooler and later to ripen than other parts of Les Poyeux.

The heart of Les Poyeux is also north of the D205 and is more or less situated mid-slope. This section is approximately 20 hectares in size, and because of the nature of the topography of the site and the surrounding area (we’re essentially on the western side of a little hillock or puy here), the parcels in this section can have west-facing, southwest-facing or full south-facing exposures depending on where they are. The elevation here ranges from 44 to around 62m above sea level.

Finally, we have the section of Les Poyeux that lies south of the D205. This area is often informally referred to as “Les Bas Poyeux.” Because we are a little further down this long, gradual slope, these parcels are at a slightly lower elevation, ranging from 40 to 54m above sea level, and they all typically have a full south-facing exposure.

Soils Matter!

In terms of soils, just as the topography of this part of Chacé and Saumur-Champigny defines the exposures of the vineyard, it also shapes what soils we find and where we find them across this lieu-dit. In general, we find three main terroir units across this vineyard, and the elevation of a given parcel or section will give us a sense of what origin and type of soil we find in that part of the vineyard.

the underlying geology of Les Poyeux and surrounding area

Hugging the eastern border of the lieu-dit (and the western border of the commune of Souzay-Champigny) and situated at an elevation of around 57 to 64m above sea level, this is where we find soils dating to the Senonian Age. This is a very complex group of soils that we find at the highest elevations across Saumur-Champigny, but here in Les Poyeux what we find are deeper sands or clayey-sands that have varying amounts of sandstone pebbles. As is the case with the presence of these soils in other parts of the appellation, these soils are deeper and the overall “impact” of the tuffeau is less across these parcels.

Moving west and down slope, we find a narrow band of soils derived from the Upper Turonian yellow tuffeau chalk. These soils tend to be localized in the area of Les Hauts Poyeux and the main part of Les Poyeux at elevations of 52 to 56m above sea level. This is where the topsoils get progressively more shallow, and the tuffeau bedrock is generally within a meter or less from the surface, and the topsoil textures are a silty-sandy-clay mix (the blue/purple areas in the image below). While I’m not a pedologist, and I believe the properties of the tuffeaux across the Central Loire can vary depending on where you are, it is my understanding that the yellow tuffeau is denser and less porous than the white tuffeau, and thus doesn’t regulate water to the same degree, so in drier years vines can experience a bit hydric stress.

L/T: Terroir Units | C: Topsoil textures | R/B: Subsoil (courtesy TechniLoire)

Lastly, the terroir unit that dominates the vineyard, accounting for about half of the lieu-dit’s surface area, is soils that are derived from the Middle Turonian white tuffeau chalk, which here in Saumur-Champigny is a glauconitic-micaceous chalk known locally as craie verte (green chalk). This tuffeau is softer, more porous and has varying though higher amounts of iron oxide content in it. This is also the tuffeau that is most widespread across the appellation and what was historically used to build the châteaux and other buildings in the Loire. From a viticultural perspective, it does tender to regulate moisture better in most vintages. In terms of topsoil, similarly to the parcels on the Upper Turonian tuffeau, here the parcels will have a more shallow topsoil and it tends to be a similar mix of silt, sand and clay (the blue/purple areas in the image above).

Finally, it is important to note that the stoniness of the site varies quite widely from parcel to parcel, and there does not appear to be any consistent patterns as to the proportion of stones, pebbles or gravels that may be present in a give parcel. Some sections have 5 to 15% stoniness, others 50% to 100% stoniness, and everything in between. But what we know about the presence of stones and viticulture, if we think of the prized galets roulés of Châteauneuf-du-Pape, stones retain the heat accumulated throughout the day and radiate that back into the vines at night. So, that would suggest that the parcels with more stones/pebbles will generally be “warmer” than those without, though there are likely exceptions to this rule.

Why All of This Matters

Firstly, it is important to note that when it comes to Cabernet Franc in the Loire, up until very recently, it was challenging for this grape to fully ripen most vintages. So historically the sites that were highly regarded were those that were most likely able to ripen the fruit consistently from vintage to vintage. These were, more often than not, those sites with warmer exposures (read: south-facing) and had the presence of the tuffeau chalk and some proportion of clay. It is likely that Les Poyeux became such a prestigious site in Saumur-Champigny because of this reason. Many the vineyards on the appellation’s tuffeau plateau hugging the Loire, and even other parts of the appellation, are flat or tend to have a slightly north-facing exposure. There are few vineyards of this size in the appellation with a predominant west- to south-facing exposure and the influence of the tuffeau.

And while this is without a doubt an excellent lieu-dit with a track record of producing exceptional wines, each individual parcel will have its own unique combination of topsoil, subsoil, exposure, degree of slope, etc., that will define its terroir. This combination will impact the viticultural constraints of the parcel in terms of the vine’s access to water, vine vigour, the precocity of the parcels (how early or late they are), etc., and ultimately there will be some parcels here that are qualitatively “better” than others.

These viticultural constraints will have an impact on how the vigneron chooses to work with their parcels to balance the canopy and yield, and this will influence the rate and degree of phenolic maturity in a given vintage. And while it is not a universal truth, in my conversations with some of the Loire’s elite vignerons, there is a resounding consensus that this balance of sugar and phenolic maturity at harvest is particularly important for Cabernet Franc and influences how they approach their work in the cellar (think: fermentation temperature, approach to extractions, length of maceration, length of time and choice of vessel for élevage). Naturally, this will ultimately impact the style of wine - in this case the expression of Les Poyeux - that we experience in the glass.

Who’s Who

These days, the average wine professional or enthusiast will most likely be introduced to Les Poyeux NOT through the expression from Clos Rougeard that put this vineyard on the map, but rather from another of the eighteen or so vignerons (the below many not be a complete list) who also own parcels here. Not necessarily all of these vignerons are bottling a cuvée parcellaire (single-vineyard wine) labelled as “Les Poyeux,” though many are. Some have also chosen to bottle their cuvée parcellaire from Les Poyeux but have chosen to give the cuvée a fanciful name instead (eg. ‘Terres Chaudes’ from Domaine des Roches Neuves). In some cases, the fruit from the vigneron’s parcels in this lieu-dit many be used to impart more structure, complexity or character to another cuvée in their range, or they could be selling their fruit to one of the local cooperatives.

- Domaine de la Bonnelière

- Domaine du Bourg Neuf

- Clos Maurice

- Clos Rougeard

- Fabien Duveau

- David Esnault (Domaine des Passereaux)

- Domaine des Frogères

- Thierry Germain (Domaine des Roches Neuves)

- Dominique Joseph (Le Petit Saint-Vincent)

- Domaine Lavigne Veron

- Langlois Chateau

- Jean-Noël Millon (La Source Ruault)

- Sylvain Rebeilleau (Domaine des Raynières)

- Bruno Richard

- Domaine des Sables Verts

- Antoine Sanzay

- Didier Sanzay (Domaine des Sanzay)

- Sébastien Sanzay (Domaine des Vernes)

In The Glass

With the variability of this lieu-dit’s terroir from parcel to parcel and at least eighteen vignerons owning parcels here, perhaps it doesn’t come as a surprise that it is virtually impossible (at least at this time) to define “an expression” of Les Poyeux, though I would say confidently that there is a certain “somewhereness” in the glass. The wines that I have tasted from some of the above-mentioned vignerons do possess a certain grandeur, presence, and/or “energy” that makes them immediately recognizable as “this is clearly coming from some place special,” though it is difficult to define it much more than that. This is unquestionably an exceptional vineyard capable of producing impressively, structured, age-worthy expressions of Saumur-Champigny, and perhaps in time that “somewhereness” that has elevated Les Poyeux to “mythical” status will be revealed.

Final Thoughts

When referencing Les Poyeux in conversation with vignerons and wine professionals, I often call Les Poyeux the “Clos de Vougeot” of the Loire for Cabernet Franc. There is no doubt that this is certainly a “grand cru”-level vineyard for Cabernet Franc, but there is a lot of diversity across the many expressions of Les Poyeux you might see in the wild. Knowing the vigneron will give you a better indication as to what to expect from a cuvée labeled “Les Poyeux” in terms of style and ageability, not to mention price. Perhaps it goes without saying the Les Poyeux bottling from the coop Robert et Marcel that sells for 10EUR is not going to give the same experience as Les Poyeux from Clos Rouegard at $300USD. Regardless of the vigneron and bottling, this is an important vineyard that every lover of Cabernet Franc should know and be on the lookout for, and it is most certainly worthy of deep exploration and appreciation.

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I want to hear from you!

Have you tried an expression of Les Poyeux? Who was the producer? What was your impression of the wine? Do you have questions swirling around in your brain about this lieu-dit or anything else relating to Cabernet Franc? Hit me up in the comments below, or feel free to send me an email.