Domaine de la Chevalerie, 2015 Bourgueil ‘Les Galichets’
The Caslot family can trace its roots in Bourgueil back to 1640. Today, 14th generation Emmanuel and Laurie have take up reigns at the estate. The family today has 33 hectares of vines predominantly in the commune of Restigné, with some parcels in Benais, specifically in the lieu-dit Grand-Mont.
They make several expressions of Cabernet Franc from their vineyards, including a range they call their Cuvées d'Inspiration, which are blends across multiple parcels and all have a specific stylistic vision, and then they have an ambitious range of 6 cuvées parcellaires, of which Galichets is one of them, and theses are wines that are coming from a specific, single lieu-dit, all of which seek to showcase the terroirs from which they come.
A core tenet of the family's approach is extremely thoughtful and meticulous work in the vineyard. Their vineyards have been farmed certified organic since 2008, certified biodynamic since 2012. And they are one of the few estates I have encountered that take things a step further by employing the use of regenerative farming practices, such as the use of permanent cover crops and no-till farming. I had the chance to visit the domaine this time last year, and their vineyards were brimming with so much life and vitality. Standing in their vineyards, there was an energy and a pulse that was undeniable.
So this wine, and the majority of the family's parcels are located in Restigné, and Restigné is one of the most diverse communes in Bourgueil in terms of terrors, so it’s worth taking some time to dissect this commune a bit.
Restigné is located on the east side of the Changeon River, and it along with the commune of Bourgueil, which is on the opposite side of the Changeon, are the only two communes in Bourgueil that have of a high concentration of vineyards on the ancient alluvial terrace as well as on the slopes.
The area of the ancient alluvial terrace start about 3km north of the Loire River, and stretch a distance of about 4km from east to west, and is about 1.25km from north to south, and we're at elevations of around 35 to 45m above sea level. The soils here are comprised of mostly sandy, or silty-sandy soils, with varying amounts of gravels, and they sit atop the lower Turonain tuffeau.
Then in the northeast portion of the commune we have the slope which stretches about 1.5km northeast towards the forests to the north. This is where the topsoils become more shallow and we find a lot more clay in the topsoil as well. Here we're at elevations of around 55 to 70m above sea level, and we have predominantly the influence of the Middle Turonain white tuffeau chalk, with a very narrow band of vineyards on the upper turonian yellow tuffeau. And finally, at the very north end of the commune, at elevations of around 75 to 80m above sea level, we find the deep Senonian era clays and sands mixed with flint.
The lieu-dit Les Galichets is located mid-slope, just at the edge of where the slope really begins to take over from the ancient alluvial terrace. Domaine de la Chevalerie has about 5 hectares here and the vines were planted during the 1950s, so we're talking around 60 year old vines, and their parcels have a southwestern exposure. In terms of soils, the family has done a lot of work to better understand the soils in their vineyards. And if you visit the estate, they have cross-sections of the various soil structures and compositions on display so you can really get a sense of the diversity of their terroirs.
In the parcels for Galichets, there is a clayey-sand topsoil, with approximately 25% stoniness, with flint, sandstone and chalk pebbles. The sub-soil is a clay-silt-sand mix with some gravels, with a depth ranging from 1 to 2m, and then we hit the Middle Turonian tuffeau chalk bedrock. If you happen to have the Chevalerie cuvée at home in your cellar, these two wines are coming from very similar terroirs, the major difference is that Chevalerie is a little higher up the slope, and thus has slightly more shallow soils, so there is a greater impact of the tuffeau chalk.
In terms of their approach in the cellar, they take a very traditional approach to vinification and elevage, and this approach is more or less the same across all of their cuvées parcellaires. So, hand-harvested fruit, hand-sorted, and all destemmed. Fermentation is in stainless steel, with indigenous yeast, with a fermentation temperature around 25-27C. Their approach to maceration is through infusion, so very little by way of active cap management techniques. The total maceration time is around 24 days. They are working via gravity from sorting table to tank and then tank to press, and avoid the use of pumps wherever possible during the vinification. The wine is aged for about 7 months in older demi-muids, so 400-500L oak barrels. The wines are bottled unfined and unfiltered, and the family opts for long elevage in bottle. So shorter aging in barrel to preserve the fruit but to help soften the tannins, but then longer aging in bottle to allow for the fruit, acid, tannins to harmonize and evolve.
Key wine wine facts below:
Producer: Domaine de la Chevalerie
Appellation: Bourgueil
Commune: Restigné
Lieux-Dits: Les Galichets
Soils: Clayey-sand topsoil w/ 25% stoniness, followed by clay-silt-sand mix with gravels (1 to 2m total), followed by the Middle Turonian tuffeau chalk bedrock
Alcohol: 12.5%
