Vincent Grall: Vineyards
Domaine Vincent Grall is indeed one of the smallest domaines in Sancerre, with just 3.8 hectares of vineyards to its name, less than Jacques and Baptiste Guinaudeau have to work with at Château Lafleur in Pomerol (this being my inter-regional benchmark for whether a domaine is ‘small’ or not). It is not less than the 2.5 hectares farmed by Pascal Cotat though, so any claim that this is the smallest domaine in Sancerre would have to be refuted I think. The vines are almost entirely Sauvignon Blanc of course, although Vincent does have a few rows of Pinot Noir amounting to 25 ares (in other words, a tiny 0.25 hectares). The vineyards are run in a sustainable manner, Vincent favouring organic methods, but he seems to have no wish to be limited to them, and so the domaine is not certified organic. Nevertheless, Vincent regularly works the land, the soils are largely enherbé, and any products used on the vines are suitable for organically certified vineyards.
Vincent has two terroirs of note. The first is Le Plateau, where the soils are mainly flint, the lieu-dit situated on the slopes facing Sancerre, to the west. The second is Le Manoir, a 0.6-hectare parcel of vines planted on clay and marl, situated mid-slope on the south side of the town. Of the two the latter is perhaps seen by Vincent as more significant; it is certainly the source of the domaine’s only single-vineyard cuvée. There are also three other small parcels dotted around the slopes of Sancerre which complete the picture.
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