Château de la Bonnelière: Vineyards
Château de la Bonnelière is located in La-Roche-Clermault, set well bank from the waters of the Vienne, on the left bank. It feels rural and isolated, although in truth it is only ten minutes distant from the town of Chinon by car. Even so, while there are some very notable domaines based on this side of the river, such as Domaine de la Noblaie and Charles Joguet, most of them tend to be located much closer to the banks of the Vienne in Ligré, Anché or Sazilly, the communes that sit on the opposite bank to the appellation’s most prestigious limestone slopes between Chinon and Cravant-les-Coteaux.
Although in his father’s time the family had just 6 hectares, Marc Plouzeau now has 32 hectares of vines to his name. Of these many vineyards, the vast majority – 28 hectares in fact – are planted to Cabernet Franc, the rest are planted mainly to Sauvignon Blanc, with a little Chenin Blanc making up the balance. All the vines are located on the left bank of the Vienne, and they spread over three main soil types. The lightest are the gravelly alluvial soils close to the waters of the river, including a large parcel on the western side of the appellation. This is Les Buissardières, and it is located near to Château Vaugaudry.
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