Domaine des Aubuisières: Vineyards
As already indicated the Domaine des Aubuisières cellars are located on the Rue de la Vallée de Nouy, just on the north-east side of the town of Vouvray itself. Although there are some vines not too far away, in Le Bouchet, as is the case with most Vouvray domaines the vineyard is quite parcellated, and it includes some plots on the première côte.
In total Charles Lesaffre has approximately 30 hectares at his disposal, planted purely with Chenin Blanc, naturally. The domaine encompasses the classic terroirs of Vouvray, which are largely limestone bedrock and superficial flint (silex in French). Some plots are rich in small fragmented pieces of flint, fist-sized pieces or perrons embedded in clay, a particular soil type known locally as perruches. Others are limestone mixed with fine clay; this combination, particularly when the limestone is the tuffeau jaune of the Upper Turonian, is highly prized. It is known locally as aubuis, and this is obviously the origin of the name of the domaine in question.
Bernard Fouquet always avoided mixing terroirs in his wines, making either site-specific cuvées, or at the very least terroir-specific cuvées. Charles Lesaffre will presumably continue in the same vein, indeed if anything he is expanding rather than simplifying the portfolio. There are exceptions to this blending rule, however, which I explore in more detail in my account of the domaine’s wines.
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