Château de la Grille, 2015 Chinon
Cab Franc du Jour #24
The first mention of high-quality wine from the vineyards of Château de la Grille dates to the mid-1800s. In 1951 the estate was purchased by Albert Gosset of the Champagne Gosset family, who was instrumental in improving and modernising its viticultural practices. Since 2009, the estate has been in the hands of sixth-generation vigneron Christophe Baudry and winemaker Jean-Martin Dutour, who joined forces in 2003 and together own four estates in the Chinon appellation, with Château de la Grille as their flagship.
The estate is located in the commune of Chinon, with 35 hectares of Cabernet Franc surrounding the château within the lieu-dit of La Grille, just north of the village of Chinon. The lieu-dit sits on the Upper Turonian yellow tuffeau chalk bedrock with a topsoil of fine limestone sand mixed with clay. The chalk acts as a natural regulator, absorbing rainfall during the winter months and releasing that moisture back to the vines gradually as they require it through the growing season. It is also a low-vigour soil, which is important for managing Cabernet Franc’s herbaceous tendencies and maintaining balance in the vine. The vines range from 30 to 50 years of age, and the vineyards are farmed without herbicides or pesticides, with rotational cover crops used to restore nutrients to the soils.
The grapes are hand-harvested and vinified in stainless steel, with aging for 12 months split equally between older barrels and stainless steel. The estate then bottle-ages the wines for an average of three years before release.
Wine Details
Producer: Château de la Grille (Baudry-Dutour)
Appellation: Chinon
Communes: Chinon
Lieu-Dit: La Grille
Soils: Turonian tuffeau chalk bedrock, sandy-clay topsoil
Alcohol: 13.5%