CHINON AREA
THE VINEYARD
Geographical location
The area covered by the appellation stretches across 19 communes on both sides of the River Vienne until it joins the Loire.
Surface area : 2,100 ha
HISTORY
Many princes and kings, from the Plantagenets to Richelieu, stayed in the chateau overlooking the Vienne, and in 1429, it was here that Charles 7th received Joan of Arc, who had come to try and convince him to win back the kingdom of France. Chinon is also the native soil of Rabelais; history and his romanticised versions of it are engraved its architecture and landscape, making it a place of pilgrimage (of a more bacchic than literary type…) and Renaissance charm that is very popular with tourists.
Types of soil
In Chinon, we encounter three main types of soil one after the other:
- First of all come the silt terraces (old and new) along the Vienne, consisting of gravel and sand;
- Then come the hillsides and isolated Turonian chalk hillocks (yellow limestone) along the edge of the waterways;
- Finally come plateaux and hillocks mainly consisting of flint clay and sands (Senonian).
Climate
The wide confluence of the Loire and Vienne rivers is an open door to the mild influence of the Atlantic. The oceanic climate penetrates inland through the two valleys to reach as far as the furthest slopes and terraces. Oriented East-West, the hillsides enjoy a great deal of sunshine from the south: we find a favourable microclimate similar to that in the Bourgueil area, giving ideal growing conditions for the Cabernet Franc grape.
THE WINES
Annual production : Roughly 115,000 hl, 4% of which is rosé and 2% white
Basic yield : 55 hl/ha
Grape varieties : Red Chinon wine is made almost exclusively from the Cabernet Franc (or Breton) grape, although blends can contain an authorised maximum of 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. White Chinon wine is made from the Chenin grape (or Pineau de Loire)
Dominant growing practices : Density of 5,000 plants/ha. Strictly regulated pruning, generally simple Guyot pruning for the Cabernet. Most of the ground is either ploughed over or sown to grass.
