Charles Joguet
The Domaine Charles Joguet farms 35 hectares in Chinon on the Loire, 30 hectares of Cabernet Franc and five hectares of Chenin Blanc among them. Charles Joguet, a painter and sculptor, took over the family estate in 1957 and began vinifying each site separately; the vineyard names on the labels stem from this work, with Clos de la Dioterie and Clos du Chêne Vert standing as monopoles of the domaine. Kevin Fontaine has run the cellar since 2006. The Cabernet Franc ferments in wooden vats and ages in French oak barrels. The wines combine juicy fruit with fine tannin.
Charles Joguet takes over in 1957
When his father died in 1957, Charles Joguet faced a choice between art school and the vineyard, and he chose both. The painter and sculptor saw soils in Chinon that changed from one plot to the next, and drew a conclusion from it: he vinified each site individually, with Clos de la Dioterie, Clos du Chêne Vert and Les Varennes du Grand Clos each getting their own wine. Grapes from the appellation went to négociants at the time. In 2020, Michel Bettane called the Domaine Charles Joguet "the best estate in Chinon".
Tuffeau cellars and the sites along the Vienne
The cellars run for a hectare through the tuffeau, hand-hewn centuries ago, with tool marks still visible on the walls. Over the year, the temperature there varies by less than half a degree.
The Clos de la Dioterie is the domaine's most famous vineyard, already mentioned in the Middle Ages. It lies flat and close to the Vienne, with clay in the topsoil, limestone and mica beneath, and vines aged 90 to 100 years. The Clos du Chêne Vert measures two hectares on the right bank of the Vienne and runs up to the crest of the hill, far steeper than the Dioterie. There, clay, fine gravel and deep-lying limestone shape the soil. Because the clos faces south, harvest begins there every year first; it owes its name to a mighty oak said to have been planted by monks from Bourgueil in the 12th century.
The Genet family and Kevin Fontaine
In 1985 Charles Joguet brought the Genet family in as partners in the estate, then sold it to them outright in 1997; Anne-Charlotte Genet now runs sales, while her father Jacques runs the business. Kevin Fontaine, born in Saumur, arrived in Chinon as cellar master in 2006 after stints in New Zealand, South Africa and Canada. "We want our wines to speak of the terroir, not of us," he says; since 2008 malolactic fermentation has taken place in barrel.
The Cabernet Franc gets ten days of cold pre-fermentation maceration at 10 °C, after which the must ferments for around four weeks in wooden vats at no more than 21 °C. The free-run wine and the best press wines are then blended. A fifth of the French oak barrels is renewed each year, the rest spanning one to four vintages. The wine ages 15 to 16 months in wood. After some years, Les Varennes du Grand Clos shows red currant and a hint of cassis, the Clos de la Dioterie chocolate and graphite.
Chenin Blanc from Les Charmes
Les Charmes lies on the left bank of the Vienne, on the hillsides of Anché, the neighboring commune to Sazilly, and brings with its clay and limestone a subsoil unusual for Chenin Blanc. Yields sit at 35 hectoliters per hectare or below, with harvesting done in several passes according to ripeness. After pneumatic pressing, the wine ferments for three months in 225-liter barrels, a third of them new, at 5 to 13 °C. It is stirred regularly so it feeds on its fine lees. After four to six months of aging, the barrels are blended together in a stainless steel tank.