Domaine des Herbauges: Vineyards
As already indicated, Domaine des Herbauges sits on the very edge of the Lac de Grand Lieu, near Bouaye, and of course it is just a stone’s throw from Château de la Sénaigerie. It also lies very close to Domaine du Haut Bourg, where another Choblet family tend their own vines. The two families are related, as cousins they say, although in France the term ‘cousins’ seems to cover a range of blood ties. It is a very expansive domaine, today extending over more than 130 hectares. This is considerably larger than the few hectares acquired by André Choblet in 1908. The domaine has reached this size over a long time though, thanks to a gradual programme of expansion and improvement by the family.
Notable vineyard acquisitions over the years include Le Clos de la Sénaigerie (40 to 55-year old vines, purchased in 1970), presumably acquired from the then-proprietors of Château de la Sénaigerie. Then there came Le Clos de la Fine (acquired in 1980), Le Prieuré de la Fine (1980) and Le Clos de la Bertetteries (1985). In 1998 the family acquired the lieu-dit of Fief Guérin, a vineyard of 60 to 85-year old vines and source of perhaps one of the best known of the Herbauges cuvées which goes by the same name. This was followed by Le Fief du Chant Baron (1998), Le Château de la Pierre (2007) and La Roche Blanche (2007). This latter acquisition is perhaps, having tasted the wine, one of the most significant in terms of quality. The terroir is mostly schist, while superficially the soils tend towards a more sandy character, an indication of the proximity of the domaine to the Lac de Grand Lieu, the Loire and of course the Atlantic.
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