Clos du Chêne Vert Monopole AOC 2019

The Clos du Chêne Vert is located on the right bank of the Vienne, not far from the centre of Chinon. The vineyard reaches to the top of the hill. The Clos is named after the huge oak tree that characterises the vineyard and is said to have been planted by monks from Bourgueil in the 12th century. The vineyard itself covers two hectares and is much steeper than the Clos de la Dioterie. The soil is characterised by clay, lighter pebbles and deep-lying limestone. Because of the vineyard's location on the opposite bank of the Vienne with a southern exposure, it is always the one where the harvest begins. The Cabernet Franc receives a cool pre-fermentation at 10 °C for ten days. The maceration in wooden vats lasts around four weeks at temperatures of 21 °C at the most. As soon as the alcoholic fermentation is complete, the blending of the pre-fermentation wines and the best pressed wines for the malolactic fermentation takes place. The French oak barrels are partially renewed each year, so that about one fifth of the barrels are new and one to four years old. The vintages then mature for 15 to 16 months in wood, another six months in tank for harmonisation, and are then bottled.

slightly transparent garnet red

Discreet, still shy and reserved, this is clearly a Clos du Chêne Vert, which is just at the beginning of its development. At first it seems chalky and cool, minty and ethereal and then becomes more and more floral with notes of violets and a few currants along with leaves and stalks.

On the palate, one gets a first impression of the depth of this Chinonbut which is only just beginning to develop. A Chinon in the making Fine and elegant it will become. With the geographically opposite Clos de la Dioterie Monopolies the more hedonistic wine has probably emerged in 2019, with the Clos du Chêne Vert but the nobler Cabernet Franc.