Le Rocher des Violettes: Vineyards
Today Xavier has 15 hectares of vines, of which 9 hectares are in the Montlouis appellation and the rest are either in the Touraine appellation in St Martin-le-Beau, or eligible for IGP status only. The Montlouis vines are naturally 100% Chenin Blanc, whereas those in Touraine are mostly red, being led by Côt, Grolleau and Cabernet Franc, although there is also some Sauvignon Blanc. He has a vineyard of Chardonnay, excluded from the Touraine appellation, which explains why some vines are IGP only.
The vines are on the whole very old, with most having been planted before 1940, and a small number passed their 100th birthday long ago. They are generally planted at a density of 6,500 vines per hectare, with 7,500 per hectare in the lieu-dit La Négrette. The soils are composed of clay supporting elements of flint, sand and chalk, with a deeper bedrock of tuffeau. The vines are tended without use of chemicals or artificial fertiliser, and as noted in my introduction Xavier has full organic certification. The harvest is manual, the yields in the order of 30 hl/ha although as usual it varies from plot to plot, from cuvée to cuvée, and the fruit is taken from the vineyard to the cave using small trays to minimise damage.
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