Domaine VRIGNAUD

Domaine Vrignaud - VignArtea

CHABLIS    24 ha    CERTIFIED ORGANIC AGRICULTURE    WINEMAKER: Guillaume VRIGNAUD


ESTATE HISTORY


Guillaume VRIGNAUD is running, since 1999, the family estate located in Fontenay-près-Chablis, in the heart of the Chablis Premiers Crus Fourchaume. The vineyard of 24 ha is divided between the different designations Petit Chablis (2 ha on the place "Chemin des Chaumes"), Chablis (14 ha on the places "Champreaux" (3 ha), "Bralée", "Chemin des chaumes", "Sur l’Etang", "les Usages", "Chasse Loup"), Chablis 1er Cru (4 ha in "Fourchaume", and 27 ares in "Mont de Milieu" and 1.23 ha in "Côtes de Fontenay"), and Chablis Grand Cru. The oldest vines were planted in 1955, and their grapes are used to elaborate the cuvée Fourchaume 1er cru "Côtes de Fontenay".



TERROIR


The soils of the Chablis region and its surroundings were formed mainly between the Upper Oxfordian (beginning of the Upper Jurassic, 161 My ago) and the Albian (end of the Lower Cretaceous, 99.6 My ago). Between the Upper Oxfordian and the Lower Kimmeridgian (-161 Mya to -152 Mya), the Chablis region is covered by a warm and relatively shallow sea.
In the middle and upper Kimmeridgian (-152 to -150 Mya), the sedimentation become rhythmic, clayey and calcareous, facilitating the development of the Exogyra Virgula, some small oysters whose fossilised shells are now found in the rock.

In the Portlandian (-149 to -142 Mya), after a few recurrences, the most clayey sequences disappear, the sedimentation becomes carbonate and continues until the general regression of the waters.

The vineyard of the VRIGNAUD estate is divided into two terroirs:

  • The limestone and marl of the middle and upper Kimmeridgian with an average thickness of 80 metres. They alternate between banks of limestone rich in small oyster fossils, the Exogyra Virgula, and grey marl. The slopes are generally the gentlest, with the exception of certain plots where they are steeper,
  • The limestones of the Barrois, Portlandian stage, which overhang the kimmeridgian slopes, and on which the vine is not very present: the very hard Portlandian limestones are however separated by marly banks of about fifty meters thick, which makes them able to accomodate the vine by place.


WINEGROWING & WINEMAKING


Totally invested in a healthy approach, Guillaume gradually converts his vineyard to the organic farming, year after year. A long conversion, started in 2012, which is accompanied by a significant yield loss but in favor of a much higher grape quality. In 2014, the entire vineyard is certified "Organic Farming" with the exception of the small plot "Mont de Milieu" of the Chablis 1er Cru designation.

Winemaking has been recently done with native yeasts. The alcoholic fermentation takes place in stainless steel tanks, and it is systematically followed by the malolactic fermentation to stabilize the wine. The ageing is usually done on fine lees to give the wines more finesse and roundness.

At the tasting, the wines of this estate offer a wide range of aromas, all of them show a well-marked identity according to the place they are made of, sometimes round and smooth, sometimes lively and mineral: purity for a lot of pleasure.


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