Domaine de la Chevalerie
Bourgueil, Loire Valley, France
Winemaker: Stéphanie Caslot
Domaine de la Chevalerie
http://www.domainedelachevalerie.fr
Domaine de la Chevalerie is a leading name in the Bourgueil appellation. The property lies in the commune of Restigné, directly beside Bourgueil, and has been owned by the Caslot family for 14 generations. It is currently run by Stéphanie and Emmanuel who took over the reins from their father Pierre. The 38 hectares of vineyard are certified organic and biodynamic. Winemaking is as low intervention and natural as possible, using indigenous yeasts during the gentle fermentation process, and keeping sulphites to a minimum. The wines are clean, deep, and very drinkable and cover the full spectrum from fruity, easy-drinking wines through to more complex and structured fine wines with good ageing potential.
http://www.domainedelachevalerie.fr
Domaine de la Chevalerie is a leading name in the Bourgueil appellation. The property lies in the commune of Restigné, directly beside Bourgueil, and has been owned by the Caslot family for 14 generations. It is currently run by Stéphanie and Emmanuel who took over the reins from their father Pierre. The 38 hectares of vineyard are certified organic and biodynamic. Winemaking is as low intervention and natural as possible, using indigenous yeasts during the gentle fermentation process, and keeping sulphites to a minimum. The wines are clean, deep, and very drinkable and cover the full spectrum from fruity, easy-drinking wines through to more complex and structured fine wines with good ageing potential.
2018 Peu Muleau - Cabernet Franc
35 year old vines at the top of the sunny slope overlooking Restigne, on aeolian sand to give pretty violet-scented wines for earlier drinking.
2018 Galichets - Cabernet Franc
A 25-acre vineyard heading down the terrace toward the river that is planted on stony, sandy clay soils (the limestone bedrock is at least three feet below the surface and typically more). The oldest vines in Galichets date from 1934. A part of that plantation was replanted in the 1970s and 80s, with yet another small section replanted in the 1990s. The siblings are beginning to replant some of the oldest vines now, bringing the average age of this vineyard to 35-40 years of age. Galichets tends to make the domain's spiciest and fruitiest wine, underpinned by a dark sappiness.
2018 Chevalerie - Cabernet Franc
A 20-acre parcel between Galichets and the winery, planted on about two feet of clay overlying limestone. This was initially planted in 1922 and this site, like Busardières, supports older vines better than the above two parcels. Average vine age here is 50 to 55 years old, and the wine typically has the intense, full fruit of Galichets but with more tannic structure. These days, the grapes from the sandiest section of this vineyard, nearest Galichets, goes into the Galichets cuvée.
1993 Busardières - Cabernet Franc
Another 7.4-acre block just above the winery that grows in a thin layer of topsoil overlying hard clay (less than one foot thick) which in turn overlies solid limestone. Half of the vineyard was first planted in 1880; half in 1922, and the vines average 55 to 60 years old. This tends to be stonier, leaner and more austere than the above wines, with notable length and finesse coming out in time.
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