Exploring Bourgueil's Grand Mont
No.5 | Vineyard in Focus
Spanning around 32ha (79 acres), the lieu-dit of Grand Mont in the commune of Benais in Bourgueil is regarded as one of the top vineyards in the appellation. What makes it particularly special is it’s a rare example of a lieu-dit in the Loire from which the wine drinker can explore several bottlings of Cabernet Franc from a single vineyard made by the hands of a number of different producers.
Situated about 7km north of the Loire River tucked back in the northernmost part of Benais, Grand Mont stretches over 700m from north to south and around 500m wide from east to west, thus given its sheer size, Grand Mont is a complex vineyard to define at a micro level with a lot of variability from parcel to parcel within the lieu-dit. At a macro level, however, there are some key factors that impact the growing environment here and ultimately influence the style of wine from this site.
The vineyard is located on the east side of the Changeon River on a long, gradual slope a…