Domaine Léandre-Chevalier: Vineyards
At the time I first met Dominique in 2013 he had 3 hectares of vines at Domaine Léandre-Chevalier. Although this implied some expansion after the vineyard cull during the 1980s, this was still small enough for the vineyards to be worked by one man, for most of the tasks at least. To achieve this, Dominique had one horse which he used for ploughing, although for some other work he had an ultra-lightweight tractor; looking like something from a sci-fi movie, this very modern alternative to equine power straddled several rows, and minimised soil compaction.
The vineyards extended over seven different plots, and although limestone dominates – only natural for the right bank – detailed analysis by Dominique allowed him to further characterise eight distinct terroirs. Lalande had limestone with ferruginous soils, La Temple had chalky stone with many large boulders, and Les Moulins d’Elie had chalk and clay. There was more clay in the plot named Coeur de Loup, as well as a second terroir of stony soil at the foot of the vineyard. Coulon was rich in black sand, Le Queyroux ferruginous soils and unusually, a large deposit of salt, and finally there was a stony peat in Les Berdots.
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