Domaine Chauviniere Muscadet 2007
Domaine De La Chauviniere
The cellars of the Domaine occupy an excellent site, on a height overlooking the valley of the Maine river. At a time in their long history, they were used as a rest house by the missionaries of the Communauté de Saint-Clément, before becoming a centre of the jansenist doctrine. This religious living included vines and a mill. The legend claims that, in 1710, Father Grignon de Montfort enjoyed returning every evening to La Chauvinière, where he appreciated the location and the quiet. Muscadet Sèvre et Maine has been matured in oak casks for many generations in the caves of this monastery.
Clos les Montys, a very attractive chateau vineyard extending over 10 hectares, lies on the commune of Haute-Goulaine, and has a long history
It covered 5 hectares in 1946.
We now manage 38 hectares of Muscadet Sèvre et Maine sur lie, most of which lies in the near vicinity of the Domaine.
The terroir is unique. It is granite based (granodiorite with biotites and hornblende) called “Granit de Château-Thébaud”. This only occurs in one very localised area (4%) in the Muscadet vineyard. These granite terroirs, which are extensively weathered guarantee both an excellent natural drainage and an perfect rooting environment for the vines. The aspect of the slopes and hillsides overlooking the Maine river or along streams is equally favourable, especially from the thermal viewpoint.
It ensures that the grapes mature in optimum conditions enabling us to produce excellent quality wines.
Le Clos les Montys, its exceptional aspect and terroir (top soil strewn with sandstone over a bedrock of amphibolite and metagabbro) enable the vine to mature very early. Paradoxically, this so-called “green rock” terroir produces grapes with a thick skin which can be picked fairly late.
The vine we use is the Melon de Bourgogne, and the planting density is the traditional figure of 7000 plants per hectare.
The pruning of the vine is very important. We have opted for the Guyot nantais principle, with three canes and one shoot. The pruning governs the number of grapes produced, here it gives a production averaging 45 to 55 hectolitres per hectare. It should be balanced and reasonable to ensure the longevity of the plant. Our vines are 45 year old on average, some are over 90 year old.
Eight hectares of our vines are espaliered so that more leaves are exposed to the sun rays. This ensures the mature grapes a higher sugar content. The quality of the picking and the phytosanitary condition of the vine leaves must be impeccable if we are to produce a quality product. We are therefore most particular about protecting our vineyard.
Our wines are managed along integrated principles, we are particularly careful to protect the environment. This involves adhering to stringent regulations the implementations of which is checked and guarantied by a label:
TERRA Vitis, “Production based on observation and respect”.