Red

Organic

Harvested by hand, the grapes are destemmed and hand-sorted before being crushed and put into vats. The maceration then takes 5-6 weeks, with regular punchdowns, with indigenous yeast only. Once pressed, the juice spends around a year in concrete tanks. No carbonic maceration. Filtered, not fined. 13.5% abv

Fruity and drinkable, to be enjoyed for its youthful red berry character, lightly chilled. Perfect with rillettes and rillons, simple BBQs and softer cheeses.

Organic

Lamé-Delisle-Boucard’s Vieilles Vignes is pure Cabernet Franc exclusively from vines over 40 years of age in the commune of Ingrandes de Touraine part from the sandy gravel terraces of the lieu-dit Louys, and part from hillside plantings in the clay-limestone of Mont Sigou. This cuvée undergoes alcoholic fermentation in tronconic oak casks with a 10-day maceration, then spends a year in large, very old 25-hectoliter foudres. Invitingly ripe on the nose and tinged with earth, it enters the mouth silkily, revealing its underlying minerality as it moves across the palate, and it closes with a gentle clench of supremely elegant tannins.

Organic

The wines of Olga Raffault are a reference point of Chinon... in this delicious, savory, 100% Cabernet Franc you're treated to pencil shavings and wet grass which dominate the nose, and the palate balances cherry fruit with herbs and earth. Farming here is managed to the strictest of Organic standards. Wondering what to have along side this for dinner? Think about pork chops and mashed potatoes with mushrooms and garlic or if you're a fan of duck; have a glass alongside root vegetables and cranberries.

Les Picasses is the most famous Chinon lieu-dit, close to the village of Beaumont-En-Vron on the north bank of the Vienne River. It is a slope with full southern exposure and chalky clay-limestone soils. Raffault's mid-slope vines are at least 50 years old and are worked organically and harvested by hand. The fruit is destemmed with the berries left whole; they are fermented with indigenous yeasts in tank with a maceration of 25-30 days. The wine is aged for one to two years in 30-hectoliter oak and chestnut foudres; it is then aged in bottle for several years before release..

Organic

Pineau d'Aunis.
Emilien Colin started selling wine in 1900, but the family history goes back to 1735. From 6 hectares of vines, the domaine, located in the commune of Thoré-la-Rochette, grew to the current 30 hectares: 11 ha of Pineau d’Aunis, 11 ha of Chenin Blanc, 2.5 ha of Pinot Noir, 2 ha of Cabernet Franc, 2 ha of Gamay and 1.5 ha of Chardonnay. Today, 8th generation Patrice Colin runs the estate with his wife Valérie, who oversees accounting. Patrice takes care of all operations from vineyard work to vinification and bottling, helped by one full time employee and some seasonal ones. His son-in-law Florian is in charge of sales and shipping. Total production is 150,000 bottles, of which 50,000 are sparkling.

The AOP Coteaux du Vendômois (350 hectares total) was officially formed in 2001, but the history of wine production goes back as far as the 11th century. After phylloxera hit, the predominant grape varieties changed from; surin (cabernet sauvignon), auvernat noir (pinot noir), miller (pinot meunier), côt (malbec) and sémillon to: pineau d'aunis, pinot noir, gamay, cabernet franc and chenin blanc, chardonnay. There is a large cooperative producing 60% of total AOP production and only 13 private producers in the appellation.

Farming/vinification practices: certified organic. Patrice encourages biodiversity: there are 150 different plants in the vineyard. The soil is tilled for oxygenation and green harvest is practiced. The wines are vegan.

Pierre counts himself lucky as 70% of his vineyards for the Chavignol Blanc are south facing. The hillsides are not as steep as Beaujeu or Mont Damnes and so he is able to use a tractor. He works with natural fermentations with spontaneous yeasts in stainless steel tanks and the wines are aged on the fine lees until bottling