Chateau de Fosse-Seche Gondwana Rouge 2019

Few wineries impress with such an illustrious history as Château de Fosse-Sèche. First planted to vine by Benedictine monks in the 1200s, the Pire-Keller family established the modern incarnation of the estate in 1998. Situated near the tiny village of Brossay, two brothers, Adrien and Guillaume Pire, tend to the 45-hectare property with the utmost care and consideration of the ecosystem. Surrounded by woods and fields, they farm alfalfa and raise goats and bees in addition to their vineyards, and have a nationally recognized bird sanctuary on the property. Most vineyards in the Saumur and Saumur-Champigny wine regions are grown on a porous yellow limestone known as tuffeau. However, the 17 hectares of Fosse-Sèche’s biodynamic vines are planted on a distinctive Jurassic-era flint plateau with gravel and clay. The unique soils and the curved aspect of the vineyards allow for the fresh breeze to cool the vines rooted in heat-absorbing flint soils. The climate there favors slow, progressive, and balanced ripening. The estate is both Ecocert and Biodyvin certified and harvesting is by hand. In 2016, Guillaume and Adrien invested in concrete eggs for fermentation, moving away from oak barrels. Fermentation is with native yeasts. The wines of Château de Fosse-Sèche shine with a focused minerality and typicity and this property is widely recognized as one of the finest producers of the new Loire Valley.