Limestone and Legacy If you know anything about Saumur, you know Clos Rougeard. For decades, it was the benchmark—Charly and Nady Foucault (Antoine's father and uncle) made Cabernet Francs that collectors treated like Burgundy. Minimal intervention, extended aging, wines that rivaled anything coming out of France. Antoine learned the craft working alongside them as a young, aspiring winemaker.
n 1999, at just 26 years old and after four years working alongside his father and uncle at Clos Rougeard, Antoine and his partner Caroline struck out on their own. Named after Place du Collier, where the family home stood, Domaine du Collier was founded after the two rented four hectares of the lieu-dit La Ripaille on the hill of Brézé. In 2004, they acquired three more hectares, including a parcel of century-old vines, and Domaine du Collier was
becoming a wine worth watching.
Then came the heartbreak. When Charly passed in 2015, Antoine made the wines at both his own domaine and Clos Rougeard for the 2015 and 2016 vintages. He and his mother tried to purchase Clos Rougeard to keep it in the family. Uncle Nady rejected the offer and instead sold the estate to telecom magnate Martin Bouygues. Antoine even had to move his cellar from beneath the family home (the place that gave his own
domaine its name) to start fresh in Saumoussay.
So here's what we're talking about: the same uncompromising Foucault philosophy (organic farming, wild fermentation, extended aging in frigidly cold cellars, zero sulfur until bottling), but applied to Antoine's own vineyards on limestone-rich hillsides. Two-thirds of the estate is planted to Chenin Blanc, some vines pushing a century old. The result? Some of the most celebrated whites in Saumur, and Cabernet Francs with a
mineral elegance all their own.
The son couldn't inherit the kingdom, so he built his own. The pedigree is undeniable, but the wines speak for themselves.
The 2021 Vintage 2021 was a rough year across the Loire with frost, low yields, one of the most complicated growing seasons on record. But Saumur was relatively spared, especially the varied microclimates of Brèzé and producers like Antoine who farm organically and know their terroir intimately pulled off something special. The Chenin returned to its classic form: taut minerality, citrus and florals, that signature tension. The reds show delicate concentration with
remarkable lift.
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![Domaine du Collier 'La Ripaille' Saumur Rouge, Loire Valley, France 2008 [Library Selection]](https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0596/1023/4946/files/RIPAILLE.png?v=1730251662)
