Domaine du Closel: Vineyards
There are 16.9 hectares of vineyards to the domaine, including a section in the famed Clos du Papillon. As noted in the closing paragraph of my history of this property, under the direction of Evelyne de Jessey-Pontbriand these vineyards were converted to organic viticulture, just one step in her project to revitalise the domaine, and the appellation as a whole. Full organic certification from Ecocert was obtained in 2008. From the 2015 vintage onwards, she began adherence to an entirely biodynamic philosophy. Although I give as much detail as I can on the vineyards (below) and the winemaking (on the next page), you may also like to read of Evelyne’s work in her own words, as reported after a Visit to Domaine du Closel in 2017.
The mainstay of the domaine is of course Savennières, which I deal with first, before looking briefly at other vineyards.
The most instantly recognisable designation in the Closel portfolio is the Clos du Papillon, a lieu-dit which I think many would immediately associate with Domaine des Baumard, but it is by no means a Baumard monopole (although together the Baumards and Domaine du Closel do own the bulk of the vineyard). Domaine du Closel has 6 hectares of vines here, planted on a complex terroir of rhyolite, spilite, phthanites and even quartz, all set against a backdrop of schist. The vines belonging to the Baumards, in the eastern section of the domaine, have a different terroir, there being more schist with sand.
