Domaine des Frères ‘Les Pucelles’ Chinon Rouge 2021
Location: France, Loire, Chinon
Winemaker: Henri & Valentin Bruneau
Grapes: Cabernet Franc
Soil: Yellow tuffeau
Winemaking: Semi-carbonic maceration whole-cluster (“Beaujolaise” type) with indigenous yeasts and without SO2, aging in concrete tanks for 6 months, bottled without filtration and fining.
From the Producer: ‘Les Pucelles’ is the only cuvée from the estate to be vinified whole-cluster! This parcel of vines (also called ‘La Pucelle') is all old massale selections, with very thin stalks that let semi-carbonic fermentation proceed without too much tannin extraction. The brothers say that this cuvée offers ‘great drinkability now but will certainly reach its peak after 2-3 years in the cellar’.
From the Importer Avant Garde: Domaine des Frères was created by two brothers, Henri and Valentin. They grew up near Chinon and both became engineers. After several years working in the fields of engineering they both realized that they were not fit to stay in an office.
Passionate about wine, Henri was the first to change course. In 2013, Henri went back to school in Bergerac and obtained a degree in viticulture and oenology. He began his Tour de France in the South West, Loir et Cher and Touraine. Henri's most impactful experience was his time spent with Patrick Corbineau, who became his mentor. In 2015, Valentin followed and graduated from a school in Mâcon. Valentin's first work study began with Yvon and Jules Métras. He also worked with and learned from other excellent wine producers such as Philippe Chigard and Bernard Baudry.
After looking for two years, in October 2019, Henri and Valentin took over a unique estate in Beaumont-en-Véron comprised of 27 acres planted with vines between 35 and 50 years old and located on a hillside containing 7 different and distinct terroirs. The property also includes a beautiful wine cellar cut into the local tuffeau limestone.
The domaine consists of 11ha divided into seven parcels: Le Pérou, Les Picasses, Les Moulins de Beau Puy, Les Pucelles, La Roche Bobreau, Les Puys and Les Chaineaux. All the vines are planted on slopes and 80% of them are from massale selection. The brothers do two types of pruning to limit Esca; gobelet for the Chenin Blanc and guyot poussard for the Cabernet Franc. They do not plow and avoid packing the soil, therefore they only come twice during the year with a 1.9T tractor (usually 3T) for the hilling up and the taking away and use quads to spray organic treatments. They rely a lot on observation. Each parcel has organic plants which indicate if the soil is alive or not. For instance on the Pérou parcel some maritime pines mixed with the sandy soil showed a lack of organic matter; the solution was to apply a mix of animal compost (horse/cow). They also produce homemade tisane treatments such as fermented compost tea. They trim the vines only once per year (compared to the 3-4 times for most winemakers). This technique provides each vine with a maximum number of leaves, thus aiding photosynthesis and improving the aromatic complexity of the fruit.
All the wines are made based on their terroirs with the idea of minimum intervention with precision. Everything is followed and tasted to make sure the wines are aging well.