Aurélien Revillot, 2018 Bourgueil “Sur Les Hauts”
Cab Franc du Jour #107
Aurélien Revillot is a relative newcomer to Bourgueil, with his first vintage in 2012. Originally from Burgundy and from a family of farmers, he completed his studies in Dijon before working in Burgundy, South Africa, and the Languedoc, eventually landing with the Caslot family at Domaine de la Chevalerie in 2010. It was that time with the Caslots, witnessing their unbridled enthusiasm for their terroirs and seeing firsthand how Cabernet Franc can be powerfully expressive of site, that ignited Aurélien’s passion for the variety. Combined with the exceptional tuffeau soils of the Bourgueil côte and the favourable climate, he saw a special opportunity and set up his own domaine in the appellation.
Aurélien began by acquiring a handful of parcels in the communes of Benais, Restigné, and Bourgueil, producing his first wine, the Sur Les Hauts, in 2012. Today the domaine covers 3.5 hectares of Cabernet Franc and a tiny 19 ares of Chenin Blanc, with Aurélien largely a one-man operation. A first visit last spring left a strong impression: upon meeting him, Aurélien immediately produced a laminated map of the Bourgueil appellation marked with colour-coded stickers showing the location of each of his parcels, followed swiftly by a second laminated map showing the underlying geology of the appellation and the nuances of the terroirs across the slopes and the flatter sites closer to the Loire. Two nerdy maps on the bonnet of a rental car, and it was immediately clear that a kindred spirit had been found in Bourgueil.
In addition to the Sur Les Hauts, Aurélien produces four cuvées parcellaires from his 3.5 hectares: Les Aubuis and Grand-Mont in Bourgueil and Benais respectively, both of which he has been making for several vintages, and as of the 2020 vintage, La Bretêche in Restigné and Les Brunetières in Ingrandes-de-Touraine, to be released in 2024 and 2025 respectively.
Benais and the Slopes in Eastern Bourgueil
As the name suggests, the “Sur Les Hauts” is sourced from the slopes, or the higher points of the appellation. The côte is concentrated in four of the appellation’s seven communes: Bourgueil on the west side of the Changeon River, and Benais, Restigné, and Ingrandes-de-Touraine on the east side. The parcels for this wine are all on the east side of the Changeon, so it is worth examining the key features that define the slopes in this part of the appellation.
The côte here is a gently sloping, narrow band of terroir that follows the Forêt de Benais and the Forêt de Rochecotte to the northeast, forming a slightly arced shape that follows the treeline. In Benais, the slopes carry a more southwest-facing exposure, gradually turning to face more directly south as you move east into Restigné and then Ingrandes-de-Touraine.
The côte is widest in Benais, at just over 1,000m in the western part of the commune closest to the Changeon, narrowing to around 800 to 900m in Restigné, and then to approximately 500 to 700m in Ingrandes-de-Touraine, with its narrowest point in the eastern part of that commune at about 250m wide.
It is also worth noting that the vineyard area of the côte in Ingrandes-de-Touraine sits considerably closer to the Loire River than the slopes in Restigné or Benais, owing to how the Loire doglegs more to the northeast toward Tours. The côte in Ingrandes-de-Touraine is roughly 2.5 to 3km from the Loire, compared to about 5km in the heart of Restigné and 6 to 6.5km in Benais. This proximity to the river gives the Ingrandes-de-Touraine vineyards a somewhat warmer microclimate than those further west.
In terms of bedrock, the majority of the côte across the eastern part of the appellation sits on Middle Turonian tuffeau at elevations between 50 and 70m above sea level, with a narrow band of Upper Turonian tuffeau appearing between 70 and 75m. The differences between these two tuffeau types, in terms of density, water-holding capacity, and mineral content, are relevant to how the vines behave and how the wines express themselves. Topsoils across the côte vary from parcel to parcel, but generally carry a higher proportion of clay than the ancient alluvial terrace further south.
The Parcels
The 2018 Sur Les Hauts is sourced from four lieux-dits: Les Rossés, Les Caves Caillot, and Les Vlaudons, all in Benais, and Les Blottières in Ingrandes-de-Touraine, together totalling around 0.97 hectares. Planting dates vary by parcel but generally fall between 1976 and 1988, giving an average vine age of around 35 to 40 years at the time of the 2018 vintage. Topsoils vary in depth and texture across the parcels but are consistently shallow, with predominantly siliceous clay or sandy-clay textures. All of Aurélien’s vineyards are farmed organically.
In the Cellar
Aurélien takes a classical approach throughout. The fruit is hand-harvested and sorted both in the vineyard and in the cellar before being fully destemmed. A pied de cuve is prepared about two weeks in advance, and for the 2018 vintage fermentation took place in fibreglass tanks. Extraction is very gentle, with light pump-overs over the first four to seven days simply to keep the cap moist, followed by infusion for the remainder of the post-fermentation maceration. Total skin contact runs approximately 3.5 to 4 weeks. Aging takes place in 228L neutral oak barrels for five to eight months, followed by six months in stainless steel, with the goal of bottling in the spring two years after the harvest. The 2018 was bottled in May 2020.
Wine Details
Producer: Aurélien Revillot
Appellation: Bourgueil
Communes: Benais, Ingrandes-de-Touraine
Lieux-Dits: Les Rossés, Les Caves Caillot, Les Vlaudons, Les Blottières
Soils: Shallow siliceous clay and sandy-clay, atop the Middle Turonian white tuffeau chalk
Alcohol: 14.0%