Domaine de la Fontainerie: Vineyards
As indicated in my introduction the domaine is located in the Vallée Coquette, and this is where the vines are to be found. This is not a domaine with a multitude of different parcels, scattered far and wide across Vouvray, Rochecorbon and Vernou-sur-Brenne. There are just 6 hectares of vines all told.
There are two notable lieux-dits, the Coteau Fontainerie and the Coteau Les Brûlées. Dealing with the Coteau la Fontainerie first, this vineyards is located on the western side of the Vallée Coquette, directly above the cellars. The soils here are clay and limestone on the tuffeau of the Upper Turonian (about 90 million years old), the Upper Turonian being typical of central Vouvray. Further down the slope is the Coteau les Brûlés, perhaps the more notable of the two lieux-dits. This vineyard, planted in 1976, is again clay over Turonian limestone, but here the upper layers of soil are sparse, so the vines dig their roots into what is predominantly degraded rock, held together with a little clay.
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