Béatrice et Pascal Lambert, 2020 Chinon ‘Chêne Vert’

The story of the Lambert family's domaine begins in 1987, when Béatrice and her husband Pascal purchased their first 4ha of vines in the commune of Cravant-Les-Coteaux. Today, Béatrice and Pascal's son Antoine has joined the domaine, and they have since grown the estate to 25ha of vines. They began farming their vineyards organically in 1995, receiving full organic certification in 2005, and later full biodynamic certification in 2012.

An important focus for the domaine is terroir specific expressions of Cabernet Franc. Their parcels are dotted across the communes of Cravant-les-Coteaux and Chinon and are situated on the three main terroirs we find across the region: sandy-gravelly alluvial soils, the Turonian tuffeau chalk-derived soils, and heavier clays with flint. Today we're looking at their Chene Vert, which is one of two expressions they make from the flinty-clay soils, the other cuvée being Les Perruches.

The lieu-dit Chene Vert is located in the Chinon commune, which is one of the most complex in the region in terms of the terroir landscape. Firstly, the topography of the commune undulates and we have quite a variability in terms of altitudes and aspects. Most of the vineyards hover between 40m and upwards to 100m above sea level, and we have north, south, east and west facing slopes in this commune. And this wide range in elevation across the commune means we find all three groups of soils in this commune. We find the alluvial soils at the lowest elevations, though it is a relatively isolated and small part of the Chinon commune on the south side of the Vienne River exclusively.

And on the north side of the Vienne River in the Chinon commune, we find the other two main groups of soils - the Turonian tuffeau chalk derived soils and flinty clay soils. The Turonian tuffeau chalk influenced vineyards are typically at elevations between 55m and 75m above sea level, and we find them dotted to the west, north and east of the Chinon Village itself. And the flinty-clay soils dating to the Senonian and Bartonian ages are found at the highest elevations, around 80 to 100m above sea level, centred around the Chinon village and on the plateau above Chinon's premier côte, east of the village.

And it is on the premier côte that we find the famed lieu-dit Chêne Vert. The lieu-dit is named for the 800-year holm oak tree that is said to have been planted by the monks of the Abbey of Bourgueil to mark this site, which was first planted to vines in the 12th century. But its terroir is a lot more complex than meets the eye. This is a 5 hectare lieu-dit that can be roughly 3 main parts. We have a small section of about 2-hectares on a full and rather steep, west-facing slope, influenced by the Upper Turonian yellow tuffeau chalk. These parcels are owned by Domaine Charles Joguet, which makes up their Clos du Chêne Vert bottling. Second, there is a parcel of about 1 hectare owned by Domaine Bruno Sourdais, which faced southwest, and is just below Charles Joguet's parcels, and we find millarges here, which are the yellow tuffeau-chalk derived limestone sands. Finally, there is a section of the lieu-dit of about 2 hectares directly adjacent to these parcels to the east on a plateau at around 100m above sea level, and this is where we find predominantly heavier flint-clay soils known locally as Cornuelles.

So the Lambert family's cuvée from Chêne Vert, it is from 0.26ha on the upper plateau of Chêne Vert. We're at an average elevation of around 105m above sea level, with a gentle south-facing exposure. Because of this elevation, we are on the part of the lieu-dit where we find the flint-clay soils. So the topsoil is a sandy-silt mix that has a high proportion of flint stones followed by a heavier clay soil mixed with flint. The vines were planted in 2000. These parcels were always vinified separately, but prior to 2017 were included in the blend "Les Perruches" and starting with 2017 vintage the family started bottling this parcel on its own to highlight this famed lieu-dit and terroir.

In terms of the winemaking, the fruit for this wine is all hand-harvested and destemmed. Fermentation is in 30HL oak vats with indigenous yeast, and the family opts for a longer maceration of 40 days with some gentle pigéage by foot to aid the extraction. This long maceration is then complemented by long élevage of 24 months in a combination of 500L oak barrels 50% new, and amphora, about 60% in barrel, 40% aging in amphora, followed by 2 months aging in tank before the wine is bottled.

Key wine facts below:

• Producer: Domaine Béatrice et Pascal Lambert

• Appellation: Chinon

• Commune: Chinon

• Lieu-Dit: Le Chêne Vert

• Soil: Shallow sandy-silt, over heavy clays with flint (cornuelles)

• Alcohol: 13.0%