Domaine La Tour Beaumont: Vineyards
The domaine is located in the town of Beaumont, on the banks of the Clain, and is about 20 kilometres or so northwest of Poitiers. Even here, a 90-kilometre drive south from Vouvray, the overarching terroir is the Turonian limestone of the Paris basin. Of course this should not surprise us, as the Cretaceous limestones of the Paris basin run beneath much of northern France, taking in the eastern reaches of the Loire Valley including Sancerre and its neighbours, then across to Chablis and parts of Champagne, as well as running north under the English Channel to Kent.
Pierre Morgeau has 20 hectares of vines, all of which are located on slopes not far from the Clain, which flows past the town in a northeasterly direction, eventually draining into the Vienne. His vineyards include 5 hectares of Sauvignon Blanc, 2 hectares of Chardonnay and 1 hectare of Fié Gris, the latter fairly recently planted. The red varieties include 6 hectares of Cabernet Franc, 2 hectares of Pinot Noir and 4 hectares of Gamay. The white varieties and the Cabernet Franc are mainly planted on limestone, while the other reds are planted on more silty, flinty soils.
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