Harmonie in Chinon

Chinon sits on the banks of the scenic Vienne river, just south west of Tours, at the heart of the Loire Valley, writes Beryl Brennan.

It was the birthplace of Cardinal Richelieu, the writer Francois Rabelais, and Richard the Lionheart is said to have died here in 1199 from a crossbow wound.

It is also famous for its wines; the appellation covers over 2,000 hectares and some 200 vignerons produce wines from 18 villages situated on both banks of the river.

The vines are planted on different terrains, either the gravel beds on the plain producing wines which can be enjoyed in the full freshness of their youth, and the limestone and sand slopes which produce wines that improve with keeping.

Cabernet Franc is the most popular grape planted, giving a fruity red wine which is matured in oak barrels to soften its character, largely in the Touraine and Anjou-Saumur areas, whilst Chenin Blanc is preferred in the Muscadet area around Nantes.

Travelling further south west from Chinon is the attractive town of Thouars, sitting astride the Thouet river, and dominated by the magnificent chateau of the Dukes of Tremoille.

The connection between Thouars rugby club and a wine producer in Chinon may seem rather tenuous at first glance, but this is the route which Maurice and Linda Reffold commenced in 2002.

They have lived abroad for over 20 years, previously in Spain, but several years ago they moved into Western France south of the Loire just south of Bressuire in Deux-Sevres.

Here they soon integrated into the local French community, through their friendship with the President of the local rugby club, Nicolas Reau, who is also a respected vigneron, they and a dozen other interested members were invited to invest in an old-established vineyard of 11 hectares in Ligre, and became hooked on the production of wine from picking the grapes to bottling and labelling.

The vineyard was originally an agricultural farm and in 1963 Cabernet Franc vines had been planted, in a soil type of chalk, stone and sandy loam.

Since 2002, the wine from this domaine, 10 per cent rose and 90 per cent red and known as Garance, has been very successful, being awarded a Bronze at the French Experience held at the Landmark Hotel in London in May 2004, and is now exported to Hong Kong, Canada and California.

From Ligre it was only 20 kilometres down the road to Sauvigny en Veron and the purchase in 2003 of 6,000 12-year-old vines on three pieces of land, thus making Maurice and Linda the first British owners of a vineyard in Chinon and giving them the right to put their name on the label.

In Ligre the soil type is clay, lime and sand, which gives the grape a more fruity and sweet flavour, producing a wine rich in the taste of mature red fruits with a hint of spice and vanilla.

The crushed grapes are left to ferment in stainless steel vats for five weeks without yeast or enzymes being added, and then spend 14 months in oak wine barrels.

Because of the extremely dry weather in their first year, the sugar and alcohol content were particularly high and from the 6,000 vines over 6,000 litres of wine were produced.

Choosing the wine was a dilemma for the couple. Of 25 barrels produced, they had to choose seven, of which four in the final choice matched the choice of the vingeron Nicolas.

The blend was then perfected and Harmonie was born.

Named after the couple’s two grandchildren and incorporating Maurice’s name also, it evokes an appropriate description of the flavour and taste of the wine.

Young red Chinon wines are best served about 16 degrees, whilst the more mature red wines should be drunk at between 17 and 18 degrees.

Open the bottle at least a couple of hours before consuming, to allow the wine to breathe.

The crest on the label has been designed personally for Maurice and Linda by the Frenchman who provides the vineyard with all the corks; at the top is a lady’s hand pouring wine into a glass held in a man’s hand, below which is a boat – relating to the yacht previously owned by the couple and showing an Irish harp on the sail for Maurice’s Irish ancestry.

Below that they are proud to see that the wine is bottled at their domain under their name.

The return to Maurice and Linda in their first year was 2,000 litres of wine, with the rest being sold on by the vigneron to cover the costs of production, so the next hurdle to overcome was marketing.

To introduce their wine in the area, they approached the Maire of their local village, who was pleased to hold a wine-tasting in his offices.

With duty paid in France, the outlets are mainly local restaurants and shops, family and friends, and through word of mouth.

To quote a famous refrain:
Fill the glass up to the brim
With this wine for it is fine
And let us drink to La Touraine
And let us drink to old Chinon

Nowadays, the couple understand there are other ex-patriate investors in the vineyards of Chinon, from Americans to Australians, but they doubt that any can lay claim to having their own name on the label of the wine produced from their own personal vineyard.

Beryl Brennan worked for more then 10 years with BBC Manchester regional radio, before moving to western France in 2002. While still writing about France, her other passion is greyhounds, helping to rehome rescued dogs through the Galgo News website.

Comments

[Dan Davis]

Would that you might have devoted less space to wine culture, and more to other sites to visit..like Villandry, both the gardens and the spanish paintings in the chateau, markets to enjoy (like Richelieu); walled towns like Loches. So maybe you will do a follow-up, with more suggestions? Next year I intend to fly to London, take the hovercraft to Calais or Dunquerque, visit the seaside towns, espcially Boulogne, Calaias, Dunquerque, then the cathedrals of Rouen and Chartes, and the Musee Beaux Artes of Rouen, then south to Chinon area, over to Loches area, so that my wife can enjoy vistas I have enjoyed, including a visit to the churches that have the gregorian chants and the Charlemagne era church with paintings and finally south to Millau, the gorges and fabulous new bridge, Pont du Gard, Nimes, Arles, Aigues Mortes and the Camargue... (please excuse spelling errors.)

[Beryl Brennan]

I don't quite see what your comments have to do with the article on a British couple producing their own wine in the Chinon area.

Perhaps, as you can use a keyboard and have a good command of the English language, you should write the articles on the places you mention you intend to visit, rather than whingeing that they aren't covered in this article!

It's easy to sit back and criticise, but much more pleasant to write a useful article.

[wendy and brian lees]

Dearest Matron and Mo-Mo,
lovely story, deserve the best. Remember us poor avocado farmers in La Herradura. Would love to hear from you as we understand you are here at the moment with John. 958 827147 xox
7 june 2008