Clos Rougeard at Noble Rot

by Wine Owners

Posted on 2016-04-19


This extraordinary vertical of Clos Rougeard (1976-2010) was held at Noble Rot, courtesy of Jordi Orriols-Gill of Rare Wine Vintages. There were 23 wines served in total, accompanied by an excellent menu that played a fine supporting role to the wines.




Clos Rougeard Saumur Blanc Brézé
1993 Fresh, fruited, green fig nose, faint oxidative hints, bright attack yet waxy textured, threaded acidity and exceptionally persistent. Super long. Ridiculously mouthwatering. Desert Island stuff, like a tuning fork in its intensity.
Clos Rougeard Saumur Blanc Brézé 2000 Perfume and camphor nose, rose petals, a dry vermouth-like spirity-ness. Herbal and the freshness builds with almost the same supreme length as 1993
Clos Rougeard Saumur Blanc Brézé
2005 Quince nose. Sandalwood and white flowers. Enormous intensity, primary, coiled. Give it 10 years



Clos Rougeard Saumur Saumur-Champigny 'Les Poyeux'
1976 Corky nose, damp cardboard, metallic palate at first. Jordi reckoned this wasn't corked. He was right, after an hour it had cleaned up, Still, the second bottle for the other table had creamy fruit, and was lovely. The only below par bottle of the night as it turned out on our table - so we can count ourselves lucky.
Clos Rougeard Saumur Saumur-Champigny 'Les Poyeux'
1985 Dusty nose but this has energy and a progression that is proper. Lovely finish. Overall a highly strung wine. Trying hard to present a beautiful public face but the age-lines are there. On its downward descent.
Clos Rougeard Saumur Saumur-Champigny 'Les Poyeux'
1986 Animal, leathery nose, bright, mouthwatering a little dry in the mid palate, over the other side of its plateau. Lovely mouthwatering finish nonetheless. I hour later just a touch spirity but a little more integrated and a touch of alcohol on the finish now the fruit is fading. Past its best.
Clos Rougeard Saumur Saumur-Champigny 'Les Poyeux'
1988 Great herbal nose, with an anis background and a touch of game. Ah, this is more like it. Lovely density and progression, fantastic energy and enormous length. This has lovely poise.
Clos Rougeard Saumur Saumur-Champigny 'Le Bourg' 1989 Darkly perfumed nose, a touch of cedar, warm entry, licorice and a little spice, and the spice is tangible too with a heady mid-palate. Very satisfying. Lifted, blackcurrant leaf finish. Long
Clos Rougeard Saumur Saumur-Champigny 'Le Bourg' 1990

Red fruits and cedar nose, enormous energy and brilliant finish. Great length and more of an expression of Bordeaux that any other of the night thus far.

Clos Rougeard Saumur Saumur-Champigny 'Les Poyeux'
1993 Pure nose, heady and spiced, redcurrenty undercurrent. Velvety palate, sweet, a little taste of heaven. Supremely integrated with an elegantly veined length.
Clos Rougeard Saumur Saumur-Champigny 'Les Poyeux'
1994 Extremely pure nose of licorice and peppercorn, so very gently sweet and svelte, so silken and smooth. The perfect sweetness. Strawberries on the finish and then a mouthwatering pithy finale. 
Clos Rougeard Saumur Saumur-Champigny 'Le Bourg'
1995 Damp wool and perfumed nose. Sheep dipped in Joy par Jean Patou! On the palate the wine delivers a knock out punch. Not sweet, not dry. Aromatic. Sappy (in the best sense of the word) fresh finish. Such shape to the wine. Haute Couture, shaped like an hourglass.
Clos Rougeard Saumur Saumur-Champigny 'Les Poyeux' 1995 Nose of pure seduction. Silky and cedary, liquory texture thanks to melted tannins. Fully resolved. Rose infused mid-palate, intensity without weight, vibrant, heady finish
Clos Rougeard Saumur Saumur-Champigny 'Le Bourg'
1996 Crystalline nose. Alluring organic nose like sleeping next to someone. Burgundian weight. Dark flashes of fruit, interspersed with brighter notes, like shafts of light. Vibrant and heady length. Tonight's expression of Burgundy and what an expression! Warm finish but the warmth does not come from alcohol. Visceral. Perfection. Sherbetty profile on the finish. This went so well with the gorgeous lamb served by the Noble Rot team.
Clos Rougeard Saumur Saumur-Champigny 'Les Poyeux'
1999 Delicate nose, fabulous aromatics, striking palate. Delightful fruitiness and exuberance with the prickliness of acidity on the finish.
Clos Rougeard Saumur Saumur-Champigny 'Le Bourg'
2000 Wood box nose, whiff of varnish, deep warm attack. Huge. Needs a bit more time.
Clos Rougeard Saumur Saumur-Champigny 'Les Poyeux'
2002 Yeasty, bready nose, tight entry, citrus fruit, grapefruit, big flavours, boisterous wine. Lovely dry finish. Lots of concentration. Young. Will be one for the future. Tremendous potential.
Clos Rougeard Saumur Saumur-Champigny 'Le Bourg'
2005 Spiced nose, oranges and mulberries. The warmth of Bourg, liquory texture, like a dry version of Cointreau. The orange in there continues into the finish.
Clos Rougeard Saumur Saumur-Champigny 'Le Bourg'
2007 Creamy nose, preserved lemons and white pepper, like a lemon posset - creamy attack, sticky ripe fruit, yet sherbetty on the mid palate. Very, very long. 
Clos Rougeard Saumur Saumur-Champigny 'Le Bourg'
2008 Potential writ large. Enormous concentration. Pithy, really pithy. Rapier like focus. All about the future. It's impossible to pin down, with at first a dark finish, then a bright finish. Amazing undercurrent of intense fruit.
Clos Rougeard Saumur Saumur-Champigny 'Les Poyeux'
2010 Round, ripe fruit. Fruity and yeasty. Intense fruit, on the terrific attack. Sticky lip-smacking fruit, fresh and plenty of potential. Great focus, like a corsetted wine. Extraordinary length







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