Clarum 2025

Clarum 2025 comes from Clos des Vaudelles in Montreuil-Bellay, a plot of Cabernet Franc planted in 1972 using massal selection, on clay soils over Oxfordian marl. A distinctive terroir in the Saumur area, quite different from the tuffeau limestone that characterises the appellation.

Étienne Bodet crafts a clairet through a very short maceration of two to three days, followed by ten months of ageing in oak barrels. This approach favours gentle extraction while preserving the wine’s depth.

The nose opens with raspberry, crushed strawberry and floral notes, retaining the inviting fruit character that has marked Clarum from the beginning. Yet the 2025 vintage seems to take a step forward: the palate gains in vinosity, with less exuberant fruit making room for a stony backbone and a long, fresh, almost saline finish.

As distinctive as ever in its interpretation of Cabernet Franc, Clarum is now establishing itself as a wine made for the table, combining finesse with complexity and depth.

A clairet with far more to tell than its colour might suggest.

Estate
Clos Durandière

Winemaker
Étienne Bodet

Cuvée
Clarum

Vintage
2025

Appellation
Saumur AOP

Region
Loire Valley

Grape variety
100% Cabernet Franc

Terroir
Clos des Vaudelles, in Montreuil-Bellay. Vines planted in 1972 using massal selection, on clay soils over Oxfordian marl — an unusual geological setting in the Saumur area.

Viticulture
Meticulous vineyard work, careful canopy and yield management, with a focus on even ripening.

Vinification and ageing
Short maceration of two to three days, fermentation with indigenous yeasts, and ten months of ageing in 225-litre oak barrels. Unfined and unfiltered. Total SO₂: 15 mg/L.

Style
A vinous, floral and fruity clairet with a delicate texture, increasing depth, a stony backbone and a fresh, persistent finish.