Domaine de la Chapelle, 2023 Chinon "Les Lutteurs”
Situated in the hamlet Le Puy in Cravant-les-Côteaux, Domaine de la Chapelle was established in 1983 by Philippe Pichard when he took over his grandparent's small polyculture domaine. Immediately identifying the importance of soil health for quality viticulture and winemaking, he began farming organically in the late 1980s. After some health complications arose for Philippe, he chose to sell the domaine in 2012 to Francis and Annick Jourdan, but Philippe continued to guide the domaine until his retirement in 2019.
With no heirs, Francis and Annick Jourdan made the decision to sell the domaine in 2022 to longtime lover of the Loire and real estate developer Laurent Dumas, ushering in an exciting new chapter for the domaine. The work in the vineyards and cellar are managed by Cédric Monroy, who took over following Philippe's retirement, and the domaine comprised of 17 hectares of vines of which 15.5 are planted with Cabernet Franc, their vines are farmed certified biodynamic.
So, today's wine takes us to the all-important alluvial terrace in Cravant-les-Côteaux in Chinon. I say all-important because if we think of the typicity of the archetypal Chinon Rouge with its soft, easy-drinking style, marked by savoury berried fruits and noble herbaceous undertones, these wines are often coming from this alluvial terrace. In fact, about 50% of the Chinon appellation's production is from Cravant-les-Côteaux thanks in part to the large alluvial terrace that dominates the commune, which accounts for around 68% of the commune's vineyard area.
The alluvial terrace on the right bank, or the north side, of the Vienne River stretching 9km across the communes of Chinon, Cravant-Les-Côeaux and Panzoult, and of this nearly 75% of this area is in Cravant-Les-Coteaux. And the vineyard area of the terrace begins very close to the Vienne River and stretches inland about 2km towards the slopes.
There are a few key elements that define the growing environment of the alluvial terrace. Firstly, because of our proximity to the Vienne River, and the many tributaries that weave their way across the alluvial terrace, access to water is generally good, so these vineyards will tend to naturally yield a little more. Secondly, the topography of this area is low lying and quite flat, so vineyards here are easier to work, and doesn't require all the vineyard work and harvesting to be done by hand, and thanks to the flat topography vines will enjoy uninterrupted sunshine during the day, which is good for ripening.
Finally, we need to talk about soils. Alluvial soils are an important part of the viticultural landscape across Chinon and are actually much more complex than meets the eye. So much so that the Chinon appellation, with the help of researchers, have identified 18 different individual terroir units that are of alluvial origin across the appellation, which they've grouped into 3 categories: the recent alluvium of the very low terraces, the recent and ancient alluvium of the low terraces, and the ancient alluvium of the middle and upper terraces.
On the alluvial terrace of Cravant, we do find all three groups of alluvial soils, but for the sake of simplicity these are predominantly sandy or sandy-silty soils, with the odd pocket with a higher proportion of clay. These deeper topsoils are then followed by a subsoil that is sandy or a clayey sand, or in we are dealing with a very gravelly subsoil, depending on where you are. The stoniness of these soils can vary widely across the terrace as well, from virtually no gravels to 50 to 100% gravels.
Now, all of this is important because it ultimately impacts the vine's access to water, which fuels the vines growth and yield. And because of the lighter texture of these soils, as well as good access to water contributing to higher yields, the fruit from these vineyards on the alluvial terrace tends to be better suited to producing, lighter, softer, less structured, early-drinking styles of Cabernet Franc, but there are, of course, exceptions to that rule.
Which brings me to today's wine, this is from a combined 1 hectare of vines from two lieux-dits, la Bellonnière and Doulaie, both of which are situated on the alluvial terrace about 850m away from each other, and we're more or less right in the heart of the alluvial terrace in Cravant. In terms of soils, as is typical of the alluvial terrace, these parcels are quite similar, though we do find slight different soil textures in these two parcels, with Bellonnière having a bit more clay in the topsoil and subsoil and Doulaie is dominated by sandy-silt in the topsoil and subsoil but with more gravels. What is significant about these parcels and part of the reason why they were selected for this cuvée is they represent some of the domaine's oldest vines, with the vines at Doulaie planted in 1970/1971 and at Bellonnière being planted in 1962/1963, so they are getting lower yields from these blocks and thus more concentration. The nature of the soils in these parcels and the age of the vines gives this wine more body, flesh and energy, and ultimately a bit more structure and ageability than what is typical from wines coming from the alluvial terrace.
In terms of the winemaking for this wine, the fruit was all hand-harvested and all destemmed. The berries are transported to tank by gravity, and the fermentation is in large conical wooden vats with indigenous yeast, and the time on skins is about 3 weeks, and the approach to maceration is infusion. Following the post-fermentation maceration, the free run wine and press wine are separated, and only the free run wine is in the finished cuvée. And the aging is for about one year in a combination of the large wooden vats and some 400L barrels.
Key wine facts below:
Producer: Domaine de la Chapelle
Appellation: Chinon
Commune: Cravant-les-Côteaux
Lieu-Dit: La Bellonnière, Doulaie
Soil: Sand and silty-sand topsoils, with a combination of clay and gravel subsoils
Alcohol: 12.0%
