Clos Roussely: Vineyards
Clos Roussely is located in Angé-sur-Cher, a small village on the south bank of the Cher, the village clustered around the road which runs parallel to the river. At the heart of the village one road runs perpendicular to this riverside route, running up the slope towards the aforementioned Château d’Angé. On one side of this road sit the vines of the Clos Roussely, raised on a limestone plateau looking down onto the road. Beneath this, cut into the limestone, and on the opposite side of the road, are the Roussely family’s cellars.
Although the wines have nothing more fancy than the Touraine appellation (or maybe Touraine-Chenonceaux), these limestone côtes are home to some very noteworthy domaines, including Jean-Marc Biet, the now defunct Clos Roche Blanche, Noëlla Morantin and more. Clos Roussely is one more name to add to this list.
Today Vincent Roussely has just 8 hectares of vines to work with, of which 6 hectares are planted to Sauvignon Blanc, and the remaining 2 hectares are red varieties, including Cabernet Franc, Côt, Gamay and Pineau d’Aunis. The vines are of a very good age, up to 80 years in the case of many. They were converted to organic viticulture in 2004, and received full certification as such in 2007, after the usual three-year transition period. Underfoot, the soil in most parcels is a mix of clay over limestone, although a few vineyards feature more flint. The work in the vineyard, in particular the scraping or ploughing of the soils, is carried out with the aid of a horse for the oldest parcels.
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