Domaine de la Butte: Vineyards
The domaine is located well up the slope in the commune of Bourgueil, above Domaine de la Lande. The majority of the vines surround the cellars, although there are also some vines in Les Perrières, which lies very close by, to the east and south a little. Underfoot the soils are relatively thin, a light layer of sand on clay, with the limestone bedrock very close beneath. As with the vineyards of Cravant les Coteaux in Chinon, the terroir changes as you move up the slope. Towards the foot of the vineyard the soils are a deeper mix of gravel and clay, of alluvial origin.
Moving up the slope, directly above the domaine, there is tuffeau blanc (white chalk) from the Middle Turonian. This chalky bedrock extends up the slope, perhaps halfway up the vineyard. Further up it then gives way to a quite narrow band of tuffeau jaune (yellow chalk) from the Upper Turonian. This yellow chalk runs in a ribbon right the way along the upper part of the slope here, following the contours of the land, disappearing up the the valley of Le Changeon as it does so. It is very narrow, and as you continue up the slope it soon disappears beneath a layer of silty deposits from the Senonian. The fact that the terroir changes as you climb towards the trees at the summit is instrumental in Jacky Blot having divided his vineyards, with the top, middle and bottom parts of the slope each yielding a separate cuvée.
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