Loire Valley
Domaine Fabrice Gasnier, Chinon
Fabrice Gasnier's great-grandfather founded the family farm with 7.4 acres of vines at the beginning of the 20th century. In those days, Aimé Gasnier also cultivated barley and corn, as well as raising cattle, sheep and pigs. Aimé's son Hubert took over in 1935, and during WWII, a period when food was in short supply and red wine was often used as a substitute, he increased the domaine's vine holdings to 42 acres. In 1966, Jacky Gasnier, Fabrice's father, converted the domaine entirely to the vine monoculture, planting parcels formerly used for pasture and grains.
Today, fourth-generation Fabrice Gasnier and his wife Sandrine oversee 57 acres of mostly old-vine Cabernet Franc planted on varying combinations of Chinon's chalk, gravel, sand and clay soils in and around the village of Cravant-lès-Côteaux. Fabrice joined his father with the harvest of 1990 and by 2000 had begun converting the domaine's vineyard practices to organic (certified by Ecocert a few year later). Soon thereafter, he began implementing the principles and prescriptions of biodynamics, and later adopted that disciplined culture for all of his vine parcels. In 2009, Domaine Gasnier was certified Biodynamic by Demeter. That same year, the domaine made its debut in La Revue du Vin de France's annual Classement of The Best Wines of France.
Domaine Facts
| Vines & Wines: |
Chinon Cuvée Les Graves: 100% Cabernet Franc from gravelly soils along the Vienne riverbank Chinon Vieilles Vignes: 100% Cabernet Franc from the domaine's original parcels (average age 45-years-old with percentage from vines planted in 1935) Chinon Cuvée l'Ancienne: 100% Cabernet Franc from two 50+-year-old terraced parcels overlooking the Vienne River Chinon Signature de Fabrice: Special selection of the domaine's oldest Cabernet Franc vines (average 65-70-years-old) Chinon Rosé: 100% Cabernet Franc from young vines (average 20-years-old) Certified Organic by Ecocert and certified Biodynamic by Demeter |
| Soil: | Base of Tuffeau de Touraine (calcareous chalk) with top soil of either granitic gravels from Massif Armoricain, or mixture of clay and sand (argilo-silicieux) |
| Harvest: | Manual harvest using small (30kg) crates with strict selection in vineyard |
| Yields: | 43 hectoliters/hectare average for Les Graves, 40hl/ha for Vieilles Vignes and l'Ancienne parcels and 38hl/ha for Signature cuvée |
| Vinification & Elevage: |
No cultured yeast used (indigenous only). Traditional vertical press used for all wines. Chinon Rosé is made from direct press juice with slow fermentation at low temperatures in stainless steel tanks. Rosé remains on fine lees for five months before bottling. Chinon Les Graves is vinified entirely in cement cuves and bottled in April after harvest to capture fruity, Franc character. Cuvaison for Cuvée Vieilles Vignes is 22 days with malo-lactic fermentation in cuve. Elevage period is six months in large (3700 liter), neutral oak tonneaux. Cuvaison for l'Ancienne is 25 days before transfer to 228 liter barriques (three to seven-years-old) for malo-lactic and élevage of one year. Cuvaison for Signature cuvéee is 28 days before transfer to combination of new and one-year-old oak barriques for malo-lactic and élevage of 14 months. No fining and no filtration for l'Ancienne and Signture. |
| Annual Production: |
120,000 bottles / 10,000 cases |