Château de Minière: Wines
The fruit is picked by hand, the bunches brought to the cellars which lie at the foot of the Minière vineyards. The fruit is carried from the vineyard in a special trailer which can be emptied using an on-board vibrating system rather than by raking the fruit as is common practice elsewhere. For the red wines the fruit is destemmed and at no point is there a crush, the fruit going directly into the (largely) stainless steel vats for the fermentation. If you think this sounds a little like the Derenoncourt philosophy as seen at many Bordeaux châteaux, you are correct, as in 2015 Kathleen engaged the services of Stéphane Derenoncourt, only the second domaine (unless I have overlooked one) in the Loire Valley to do so, after Domaine FL.
The extraction is encouraged by pigeage in the vat, which Kathleen admits an unusual approach for Bourgueil in this day and age, where infusion rather than extraction is usually the watchword. These changes, along with all the Derenoncourt advice, prompted the departure of the winemaker who I believe was Daniel Estève, once of Château Clinet, who had stayed on from the time of Bertrand and Evelyne de Mascarel.
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