The 1.3ha 'Clos Durandière' is the first vineyard in the estate of Domaine Étienne, and a wedding gift from Étienne's family. It lies in the right bank of Montreuil-Bellay, surrounded by the walls of the Château de la Durandière, the family castle, and next to a forest in the same enclosure. The proximity of a forest environment gives diversity of flora and fauna, and provides western shade to the vines, which comes in particularly beneficial during the summer. The soil of this location, unlike the Cretaceous limestone-clay composition in the rest of Saumur, is made up of Jurassic hard limestone, just like the Côte de Nuits.
The plot of cabernet franc has been under meticulous care since 2015. Étienne applies biodynamic application to the soil, and prunes the vines by the Guyot Poussard system in order to restrict yield.
* Region: ‘Clos Durandière’, Montreuil-Bellay
* Varietal: Cabernet Franc 100%
* Soil: Hard limestone from the Bathonian stage of the Jurassic period
* Vinification: whole bunch fermentation. use organic nitrogen depending on vintage, no sulphites. Malolactic fermention during maceration in 2021- 2022
* Ageing: 2 years in barrels, 95% old oak barrels from Le Bourg of Clos Rougeard, 5% new; 6 months in vats, 6 months in bottles
