
The Clos du Chêne Vert is one of Chinon's most legendary sites, actually located in the town itself, at Haute Olive, on the right bank of the Vienne.
The very steep slope of the small two-hectare south-west facing vineyard and its clay and silico-calcareous soil explains why it is one of the oldest "crus" (growths) of the appellation.
The site owes its name to the monumental chêne vert (green oak) that stands proud at the top of the plot. This tree is the new growth of an eight hundred-year-old tree planted by the monks of Bourgueil abbey in the 21th century.
Average yield: 30 hl/ha (or 1,210 litres per acre).
After numerous checks are made to determine optimal maturity for all the "cuvées" and hence the best time to harvest, the grapes from this vinyard are usually harvested first. Its exceptional exposure and hillside soil provie us with the very first must of every vintage.
Skin maceration and vatting are similar to the Varennes, although since the vintage 2008, the vatting is in oak vats. Pumping over and punching of the caps (pushing the solid matter, or cap, at the top of the vat bakc down into the juice) helps in the extraction of the matter and the robe.
The alcoholoic fermentation is occasionally followed by the malolactic "on the marc", providing additional roudness and richness. Prolonged ageing in barrels of 1 to 3 wines (12 to 15 months) is the last stage in the refinement of a wine with a unique personality.
A very long-term keepong wine which will benefit from a few years of bottle ageing to "come into its own" and fully express its originaltity.
Cooked red meat: beef bourguignon, small game birds, partridge, pigeon.
Excellent wine for keeping: needs 5 to 6 years to start revealing itself.
Ideal after 8 to 10 years of ageing.
LA DIOTERIE
37220 SAZILLY - FRANCE
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SCEA Charles Joguet - La Dioterie - 37220 Sazilly. Tel. +33(0) 2 47 58 55 53 Fax. +33(0) 2 47 58 52 22 RCS Tours B 334 281 342.
Open time : Monday - Friday: 10 am - 13.00 pm / 2 pm - 6 pm ; Saturday: 10 am - 6 pm from April 1st to Oct. 31st / 10 am - 13.00 pm from Nov. 1st to March 31st
www.charlesjoguet.com, winegrower in Chinon since 1957. Discover our Loire Valley wine selection. © Charles Joguet 2011
Our vintages
Clos du Chêne Vert :