After our visits in Saumur we headed to Chinon where we first stopped off at Pierre and Bertrand Couly at their striking winery on the outskirts of Chinon.
Bertrand Couly: "We have nearly finished. Tomorrow will be our last day. We waited for the Cabernet to ripen, so we started last Friday. The yields are lower than we initially expected as the bunches are lighter than they look. It would seem that the rains of September did not swell the grapes, which suffered from the drought during the summer as well as the heat. Overall yields are around 43/45 hl/ha. Potential alcohols range from 12.5% - 13.5% with 4.0 acidity. It has taken a long time to extract colour from the 2015s.
Our last visit of the day was to Domaine Francis Jourdan. Annick and Francis were relatively relaxed as they had finished their harvest yesterday - having started on 28th September. When we passed they were helping out a young neighbour - sorting and destemming their grapes.
Francis: We are very happy with harvest this year. The fruit is very clean. Yields are between 40-45 hl/ha with the potential alcohol ranging from 12.8 to 13.5%."
Michelle Couly tasting 2015 Chinon Blanc
with her daughter (below)
Bertrand Couly
A super taster....
Annick Jourdan, Domaine Francis Jourdan
Dealing with a neighbour's Cabernet Franc
Francis Jourdan
Emptying a small amount of juice from the trailer
after processing the grapes
The continuing spread of eggs .....
clearly they have been given free range in the Loire
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