Saumur-Champigny

Capital of the Huguenots under Henri IV, Saumur has been an important trading center since the 12th century. The name Saumur-Champigny may derive from the Latin campus igni or field of fire, due to the area's particularly hot microclimate in summer. In the Saumur appellation zone, the name Champigny may be added for the finest red wines, produced in delimited areas of eight communes near Saumur: Souzay-Champigny, Chace, Montsoreau, Parnay, Saint-Cyr-en-Bourg, Saumur, Truquant and Varrains. The Saumur-Champigny appellation was formalized by decree on December 31, 1957.

The Saumur-Champigny vineyards are mainly located on the Cretaceous sedimentary soils (Turonian and Senonian) on the south-western edge of the Paris Basin. This region, characterized by white soils derived from chalk-tuffeau, is known as Anjou Blanc, as opposed to Anjou Noir with its dark soils developed on the old Armorican bedrock. Saumur-Champigny vines occupy a remarkable position on the upper Turonian plateau and on the plateaus above the tuffeau. They benefit from the influences of a temperate oceanic climate.

The vineyards of the Saumur-Champigny appellation cover around 1,400 hectares, with an annual production of 83,000 hectolitres. The authorized grape varieties are Cabernet Franc (the majority in the area), Cabernet Sauvignon and the relatively rare Pineau d'Aunis. Saumur-Champigny wines are exclusively red, identifiable by their luminous garnet-red color. The tuffeau gravel lends a characteristic finesse and lightness. Most can be drunk young, but their complexity reveals itself after several years of cellaring (5 to 20 years). The characteristics of Saumur-Champigny wines are best revealed in the products offered by Domaine des Roches Neuves, Clos Rougeard, Domaine Saint-Just and Château de Villeneuve.