Bruno Dubois ‘Les Perruches’ Saumur Blanc 2020

Location: France, Loire, Saumur

Winemaker: Bruno Dubois

Grapes: Chenin Blanc

Soil: Clay, limestone, tuffeau

Winemaking: Fermentation split 50/50 between amphora and used oak barrel. No racking during 10 months on the lees. In the cellar wines see as little human interference as possible, native fermentation, no pumping, light extraction, no added sulfites (except for the white).

From us at M&L: Creamy and dense with cooked and bruised golden delicious and honeycrisp apples, nutmeg, and a core of golden raisins amid a gentle smokiness like a distant campfire.

From the Importer Bobo Selections: ‘Les Perruches’ comes from a single vineyard of old Chenin. This is the smallest cuvée of the property and quantity is extremely limited.

Nature rules, the vigneron resembles his wines, and extreme biodiversity protects these biodynamic plants. Schooled by the likes of Marcel Lapierre before taking over his family’s 3,5 ha in Saumur-Champigny, Bruno Dubois has instituted himself as one of the foremost defenders of the terroir and land of Saumur-Champigny. Along with icons like Thierry Germain and Nadi Foucault, DuBois is paving the way for organics and purity from this often overlooked AOC.

Bruno Dubois currently farms 3.5 hectares of vineyard ranging in age from 45-65 years old. The vineyards are inter-planted with native brush and trees, flora and fauna are nurtured with bird houses, bat shelters and bee hives. The top soils in the vineyard are clay and limestone with a base of the famed tuffeau stone.

Bruno established himself in Saumur-Champigny in 2002. He immediately began to convert the vineyards to organics in 2002, and converted completely to 100% organics in 2004. In 2012 the vineyards were certified EcoCert and certified Demeter biodynamic 2015. Before landing in Saumur-Champigny, Dubois worked in the cellar and vineyards of the late Marcel Lapierre in Villié-Morgon. The stewardship of the land and steadfast passion for organics and non-interventionist winemaking he learned from Lapierre translated perfectly to the soil and climate of his home village.

Dubois’ philosophy in the cellar is to produce wines with as little human interference as possible, native fermentation, no pumping, light extraction, no added sulfites (except for the white). The result is a transparent expression of the grapes that hold the integrity and history of Saumur-Champigny.