In the silence of the cellar

The wooden door opens slowly onto a dark room. The tuffeau walls bear witness to the memory of centuries past. In the hollow of a recess, empty bottles bearing prestigious Burgundian grand cru labels, vestiges of a long-forgotten tasting, seem to have lain there forever. In the vaulted cellar, the oak barrels of the 2nd and 3rd wines of prestigious Bordeaux châteaux (Margaux, Figeac) await the 2000 harvest. It is here, in this impressive 15th century building "that time brings wisdom", as Jacques Genet, owner of the domain, points out. For ten months, the wine will age, evolve and acquire all its complexity in the silence of the cellar.

This jovial, hard-working man leads us to the edge of a vat being pumped over, where the must from Clos de la Cure is being gently aerated. "Look, it's already got a beautiful carmine red colour". Bending slightly forward and sniffing the divine liquid that smells of small red fruit, Michel Pinard takes enormous pleasure in describing the future vintage: "At this stage, we can pretty much predict the characteristics of the vintage. It will be a very typical Val de Loire vintage. The colour is deep ruby red, not purple. The acidity is generous. So there will be a slight acidulous note which is what gives Chinon its charm".

This year, the grapes have been harvested in perfect condition, thanks to our team who have worked so hard in the vineyard. Thinning out to favour grape maturity. Cluster thinning (vendange en vert) that consists in eliminating excess bunches, ensuring the homogeneity of maturity of the future harvest. "Nothing was left to chance, so to speak" says Michel Pinard "the result being great concentration". For his seventeenth harvest at the domain, Michel Pinard is so passionate about what he does that, despite his fatigue, he just keeps on smiling. Because this Brittany native appears to have taken Rabelais' motto as his own, "le vin réjoy les cœurs!" (wine makes the heart rejoice!).

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