Château de l’Aulée: Vineyards
Château de l’Aulée is located less than a kilometre from Azay-le-Rideau, near the mouth of the Indre Valley, on the D751. The vineyards are intermingled with woodland, and indeed the estate sits right on the edge of the Forêt de Villandry. There are approximately 37 hectares of vines (not including the rented 6 hectares in Chinon), of which 34 hectares are dedicated to Chenin Blanc, with almost 3 hectares of Chardonnay.
There are no red varieties planted on the estate. The Chenin Blanc vines in the Azay and Maillerie plots are aged 15 years, those in L’Aulée and La Lande du Chat are 40 years old. The Chardonnay is planted in two plots, one named Jeanne d’Arc amounting to 1.4 hectares and the second named 2001 (presumably the year of planting) which accounts for 1.44 hectares. The work in the vineyard follows the philosophy of agriculture raisonnée and the soil between the rows of vines is grassed over. The soils are generally clay and flint, and the pruning is double Guyot.
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