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 Situated on the right bank of the Loire river, the vineyard of Savennières is nearly at the gates of the city of Angers. A bit over 100 hectares are presently exploited.
Le Clos la Royauté, neighboring the park of the Château de la Bizolière and covering just over 5 hectares, is planted exclusively with white Chenin. Depending on the year’s climate, this grafted variety of the Loire Valley manifests itself as a solidly-constructed dry white wine proudly bearing the mark of its highly expressive soil, or else as a bright and elegant medium dry wine, or even as a complex, ample liquor-like brew.
Brown schists and Aeolian sands make up the soil of this jewel of the vintage. The soil is grass-planted and the vines guided in order to obtain a limited production, token of a full maturity and a natural balance. The grapes are harvested completely by hand over a period of several weeks, with only completely matured fruits being gathered at each passage.
A pellicular maceration of 6 to 8 hours is followed by a very slow pressing of the grapes. After a fermentation at low temperature, the musts are aged in casks for approximately 5 months. Bottled before summer, these wines reunite the freshness and vivacity which characterize the soil of their origin.
Some figures and technical data.
Area : 3,5 hectares
Soil : schists and Aeolian sands
Vines : 100% white Chenin
Age of vines: 16 years
Density of plantation : 5000 plants to a hectare
Agricultural method : grass-planting and soil-working
Pruning : short double Guyot
Green harvesting and thinning
Vintaging : by hand, in several sortings (October and November)
Yield : 30 hl/ha
Grape processing : slow pressing (pneumatic) and selection of musts
Fermentation : slow in barrels at low temperature (16-18° C)
Yeasting : no
Malo-lactic fermentation : no
Clos la Royauté is fermented and aged in oak barrels (20% new) with weekly stirring up of the lees
Racking and filtration before bottling in germ-free containers
Conservation 10/15 years
 Harmony of wines and foods : oysters, seafood, grilled fish or fish with sauce, sea-perch or bass with fennel, sandre au beurre blanc, white meats, poultry, pork, veal (sweetbreads), asparagus, artichokes, Brussels sprouts
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