Founded in 1999 by Antoine Foucault and Caroline Boireau, Domaine du Collier has become one of the Loire’s most revered small domaines. Antoine, son of Charly Foucault of Clos Rougeard, farms nearly seven hectares on the limestone-rich hillsides of Brézé, two-thirds planted to old-vine chenin blanc and the rest to cabernet franc. Vineyards are worked organically, with roots encouraged deep into the chalky tuffeau, and harvesting is meticulous and by hand. In the cellar, fermentations are spontaneous, élevage stretches two to three years in barrel and foudre, and no sulfur is used until bottling. The results are wines that marry power, purity, and lift, often transcending variety to express the limestone itself.

Sourced from old-vine chenin blanc on Brézé’s clay and tuffeau slopes, the 2021 Saumur Blanc reflects both the depth of its limestone soils and the poise of a cooler vintage. Fermented with native yeasts in barrel and aged 24 to 36 months on its lees in the domaine’s cold underground cellars, it gains quiet power and layered complexity without losing its edge of tension. Aromas of citrus, quince, and orchard fruit are laced with chalk, smoke, and a faint touch of honey. On the palate it feels like stone turned to silk, laser-focused and mineral, carried by electric acidity into a long, saline finish. A wine of elegance and endurance, this is chenin blanc at its most profound.