Domaine Fabrice Gasnier Chinon Les Graves 2013

The fourth-generation Fabrice Gasnier and his wife Sandrine manage 25 ha of mostly old-vine Cabernet Franc planted on varying combinations of Chinon’s chalk, gravel, sand, and clay soils in and around the village of Cravant-lès-Côteaux. The Gasniers employ biodynamic techniques in farming, with no pesticides or herbicides. Yields are extremely low. The results are aromatic, racy red wines, with great concentration and length. The wines are delicious upon release, yet would benefit from a few years of aging. Fabrice Gasnier’s great-grandfather founded the family farm at the beginning of the 20th century. Aimé Gasnier had cultivated barley and corn, as well as raising cattle, sheep and pigs. Aimé’s son Hubert took over in 1935, and during WWII, a period when food was in short supply and red wine was often used as a substitute, he increased the vine holdings. In 1966, Jacky Gasnier, Fabrice’s father, converted the domaine entirely to the vine monoculture, planting parcels formerly used for pasture and grains. Fabrice joined his father with the harvest of 1990 and by 2000 had begun converting the domaine’s vineyard practices to organic (later on certified by Ecocert). Soon thereafter, he began implementing the principles and prescriptions of biodynamics, and later adopted it for all of his vine parcels. The domaine produces their still, sparkling rosé wine and reds with the main grape of the Loire Valley – Cabernet Franc. The vinification takes place in small capacity cement vats, in the thermo-regulated cellar.