The Vineyard
Grape variety
The white wines come exclusively from Chenin, a noble grape variety that flourishes wonderfully on the banks of the Royal River and which, depending on the vintage and its maturity, makes it possible to obtain great wines, whether sparkling, dry, semi-dry or sweet.
The red wines come from 100% Pineau d'Aunis, one of the oldest grape varieties in the Loire Valley. This grape variety performs particularly well on the slopes of the Loir. Harvested at full maturity, Aunis confers an aromatic refinement to the wines: notes of spice are added to an elegant fruitiness
Age
The average age of the vineyard is very high (about 70 years). The commune of Dissay s/s Courcillon has 3 hectares of old vines used as a nursery to replant the 3 hectares of new plants from a massal selection in the commune of Bueil en Touraine. I put these old vines, sometimes forgotten, back into production, convinced of the enormous potential they can bring to our vintages while taking care of the installation of the new vineyard.
Terroir of flinty clay on Tuffeau
Vineyard management
All interventions on the vines are manual : gobelet pruning for the old vines and guyot poussard pruning for the young ones. Manual disbudding and de-budding to control the yields as closely as possible, careful tying up to facilitate the aeration of the bunches, topping and trimming to remove only the strict minimum and not to hurt the harvest.
No chemical products are used, the soils are worked mechanically in order to disturb the root absorption of the vines and to contain the growth of weeds. To fight against cryptogamic diseases, I use treatment products authorized in organic agriculture (copper and sulfur) to which are added herbal teas and decoctions of plants.