2020 Thierry Germain Domaine des Roches Neuves Saumur-Champigny Loire Valley 750 ml

The 2020 Thierry Germain Les Roches is going to start—or reignite—your love affair with Cabernet Franc. Les Roches is a red-berried and savory-spiced ode to the Loire Valley, gifted to us from 25-year-old Cabernet Franc vines planted in chalk, sand, clay, and limestone soils. If this is the only 100% Cabernet Franc you buy all year, our bottles will make a welcome treasure. 

This bottle allows Cab Franc—one of the parents of Cabernet Sauvignon― and its savory, cherry flavors and soft tannins to take center stage. The Loire Valley’s signature red is the perfect addition to the world’s most famous blends—from Napa Valley to Bordeaux—because it adds delicate, floral perfume, and elegance to robust, tannic grape varieties. 

The 2020 Les Roches was brought to the United States by one of the wine world’s most respected icons, importer Kermit Lynch, whose poetic travels and fanatical quest for “magical” wines with friendly price tags have seduced wine lovers the world over. Lynch is a near-mythical figure today. His book-signings draw Hollywood celebrity–like crowds, while critics, experts, judges, winemakers, and vintners alike are all fans. Robert Parker, Hugh Johnson, Clive Coates, Karen MacNeil (author of “The Wine Bible”), and Domaine de la Romanée Conti’s Aubert de Villaine—they all adore Kermit Lynch. 

Thierry Germain—the man behind today’s Les Roches magic and who was discovered by Lynch—is a biodynamic farmer and winemaker whose mentor is Charly Foucault of Clos Rougeard, one of the most prestigious Loire producers. 

Germain’s grapes are harvested early to preserve fruit freshness and vibrant acidity, resulting in a red that’s fabulously drinkable, juicy, and delicious—and with a price that’s assuredly painless. The pleasure to be gained is limitless.