Thierry Germain

Thierry Germain farms Domaine des Roches Neuves at Varrains, about five kilometres from Saumur in the Loire. The estate was founded in 1850 by the Duveau family; Thierry and Marie Germain took it over in 1991, when it ran to twelve hectares, and it now covers twenty-eight hectares across sixty-one plots. Clos de l'Échelier and Les Mémoires were added in 2012. Their daughter Jeanne vinifies several of the cuvées.

The estate moved to organic growing in the late 1990s and to biodynamics in the early 2000s. The vineyards are certified biodynamic by Biodyvin, apart from the Clos de l'Écotard parcel, which is certified organic by Ecocert and worked biodynamically. Yields are kept low and the vineyard work is done by hand.

The reds are Cabernet Franc from Saumur-Champigny, bottled parcel by parcel: Terres Chaudes, Les Mémoires, Clos de l'Échelier, La Marginale, Outre Terre, Roche, Franc de Pied from ungrafted vines, and others including Domaine, Bavardages and La Foulée. The whites are Chenin Blanc from Saumur, among them L'Insolite, Clos Romans, L'Échelier, Terres, Clos du Moulin and Clos de l'Écotard, alongside a traditional-method Saumur Brut and a solera-aged blend. The reds are made without heavy extraction; the Chenins are dry, taut and mineral. Arcana Cabinet lists thirteen wines from the domaine: the Saumur-Champigny reds Terres Chaudes, Les Mémoires, La Marginale, Franc de Pied, Clos de l'Échelier, Outre Terre and Roche, and the Saumur whites Terres, L'Insolite, L'Échelier, Clos Romans and Clos du Moulin, together with the Saumur Brut. The range also includes the other Saumur-Champigny parcellaires, further Chenin bottlings and a rosé.