Chateau de Miniere - 'Bulles de Miniere' - Cabernet Franc - Bourgueil, Loire Valley, FR - NV

Here at Satellite... we call this Fran-brusco!

Château de Minière is a sprawling 18th century estate in the Loire Valley situated midway between Tours and Saumur, and lying within the Bourgueil appellation. 

The estate has numerous parcels of vineyards, comprising 18 hectares in all, and entirely planted in Cabernet Franc. The vines, which range in age from 10 years to over 110 years (averaging over 50 years of age) are planted to a density of 4500-5000/hectare with an average yield of 45 hL/ha. 

The vineyards lie on a variety of soils, from gravelly sites along the Loire River to the admixture of clay, limestone and silica (quartz) on the hillsides overlooking the River. The viticulture is entirely organic, certified as such by Ecocert, and techniques include ploughing, grassing (cover planting between rows), leaf pulling and green harvest. The vines are trained in single cane Guyot simple.

 The harvest is manual and the grapes are rigorously sorted before slow pressing with a pneumatic press. 

Winemaker Clément Maire-Leguistin ferments the must in stainless steel tanks on natural yeasts at low temperature (14°-16° C.).