René-Noël Legrand: Vineyards
The domaine is 15 hectares in size, but very parcellated, the vines being scattered in twenty plots around the towns and villages of Saumur, Dampierre, Chacé, Varrains and Souzay-Champigny. The vines are almost entirely Cabernet Franc, although there is also a small plot of Chenin Blanc, the fruit from which is usually employed in the production of a Saumur Blanc, although rarely it may be possible to produce a Coteaux de Saumur from these vines.
The terroir is generally clay over limestone, typical of the Saumur and Saumur-Champigny appellations, the limestone dating from the middle Turonian. The average age of the vines is 45 years, although some vines have twice this age, with the oldest plots dating back to 1927. They undergo single Guyot pruning, with control of yields with debudding, with a green harvest as a back up in July as required. There is also leaf removal in July to encourage ripening. There is no organic or biodynamic philosophy in action here, although the family do favour planting grasses between the rows to compete for surface water.
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