Château du Cléray & Maison Sauvion: Vineyards
Château du Cléray sits just a few minutes drive west of the town of Vallet, in the eastern peripheries of the Muscadet Sèvre et Maine appellation. Having said that the château is not quite as far out as Les Frères Couillaud, based at Château de la Ragotière, and Domaine des Tilleuls, both near-neighbours which are situated to the east towards La Regrippière.
The estate has approximately 90 hectares of vines, situated on the slopes around Vallet. The château itself sits on a little corner of micaschist, while to the south, south-west and west, the bedrock is all gabbro. The superficial soils are sandy with some areas of clay, this latter element another clue to the underlying terroir, as gabbro is one of the few rock types in the region that releases clay minerals as it degrades, most others tending to produce a more sandy soil.
The vines are exclusively Melon de Bourgogne; looking back to the 1980s when the property only had about 30 hectares a significant proportion of the vineyard was dedicated to Gros Plant du Pays Nantais, but under the direction of Pierre-Jean Sauvion the vineyard has not only been expanded but also restructured, with the last parcels of Gros Plant du Pays Nantais having been replaced by Melon de Bourgogne as recently as 2012. In my tasting notes all sorts of other varieties pop up, but these are négoce wines made under the Maison Sauvion label, using purchased fruit.
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