When Thierry Germain relocated to the Loire from Bordeaux in the 1990s he was among the first movers in the Loire's natural wine renaissance. Since then he's bridged the gap between lovers of classic, age-worthy wines and the natural/biodynamic crowd like few others (DRC, Nicolas Joly, his own idol Clos Rougeard) have.

First and foremost, he makes terroir wines. Beyond an entry level red bottling and his very underrated sparkling wine, all 14 of his Cabernet Franc and Chenins come from single vineyards. All of the winemaking happens in cement and 600L or larger old wood. The Clos de l'Echelier on offer today comes from 40 year old vines planted over Saumur's typical clay/limestone soil. It's a great ambassador bottle, giving a sense of Germain's winemaking and its vintage without the extremes of fruitiness & tannin that other young Cab Francs might posses.

2020 was warm in Dampierre sur Loire leading to early picking and a sleeker, more perfumed profile than other years. Expect notes of wild strawberries, pencil shavings, pepper, geranium, and sweet pipe tobacco over slight but gritty tannins. - WP