Vineyards & terroirs
The vines are exposed on two main types of soil: gravelly terraces, which give light and fragrant wines that are called "Easter wines" or "spring wines"; and clayey-siliceous and clayey-limestone slopes, which offer wines with good or even very long ageing potential. Depending on their terroir of origin, certain wines can be tasted as early as their youth or, on the contrary, can be left to reveal themselves fully for many years.
Cabernet Franc
King grape variety of Touraine: here it is commonly called "Breton".
Generally planted in terroirs with a temperate climate, the Loire Valley, the garden of France with a mild climate and without excess, suits it wonderfully and allows it to express its aromas and finesse.
It offers chinon wonderful fruity and floral aromas, ranging from wild strawberry, raspberry and redcurrant to violet, clove and peony and in great wines for laying down, a unique aromatic palette: truffle, undergrowth and musk.
Chenin Blanc
The identity grape variety of the Loire Valley is one of the oldest in our region.
It represents 3% of the Chinon appellation area and thrives in the clay-limestone terroirs where it produces great dry white wines.
Chenin is "the" grape variety of white wines from the Loire Valley capable of producing great wines with diverse profiles: sweet, dry or sparkling.
Vine work
From sandy soils to clay-limestone terroirs, there are no less than 7 plot-based cuvées produced each year in Cabernet Franc - a red wine and a white wine - from fruit wines to be enjoyed young to great wines for laying down: it's a gustative journey through the different climates our wines offer.
The care taken throughout the year in our vineyards favours small yields, good sanitary conditions and consequently good balance and concentration of the grapes: 25 hl/ha for the Clos de garde and 40 hl/ha for the fruit wines.
Organic agriculture and biodiversity
Cultivated in organic farming since 2008, the vineyard and the wines are certified AB - Ecocert as of the 2016 vintage.
This environmental approach is complemented by research on ecosystems and biodiversity - rich and diverse in our region, to enable the vine to flourish in harmony with nature (healthy soils, water, fauna & flora...) and to promote the balance of its components between the earth (roots, sap flow...) and the air (vine stock, foliage, fruit...).
Manual harvesting
The harvest is carried out entirely by hand in order to pick the grapes in the best possible sanitary conditions and to ensure the homogeneity of the maturities by selecting only the best bunches.
Every year, secateurs and buckets in hand, a team of 40 cutters & hoods join our estate at the end of September - beginning of October.
A drastic sorting is carried out in the vineyard, at the foot of the vine stock, to keep only those bunches that are perfectly ripe: all undesirable bunches are immediately removed.
The harvested bunches are transported in small openwork 20 kg crates to the Dioterie winery.
A second sorting is then carried out on a vibrating table when the harvest is received in the cellar by the estate team.
The grapes are then destemmed and transported to the stainless steel tanks.