CLOSIERS ESTATE - LOIRE

A story of passion

Domaine des Closiers is located in Parnay, in the heart of the Saumur Champigny appellation, it extends over 24 hectares on clay-limestone soil. The vines are 35 years old on average.

The closiers were the winegrowers who worked in the vineyard enclosures and who lived in the troglodyte dwellings at the foot of the hillside. Through this name, Anatole, the owner, pays homage to the workers, convinced of the power of the collective and team spirit.

The winemaker is nothing without his team and the complementary know-how that shares a taste for excellence and a love of a job well done.

15 ha, located in Parnay, are certified organic (Ecocert) and cultivated to produce the wines of the Domaine des Closiers. 9 ha are in organic conversion. They constitute a 'reserve' for the estate.

Located in Souzay-Champigny and Dampierre, these plots cover the estate in the event of a climatic hazard affecting Parnay, thus guaranteeing that all the grapes used have been cultivated by the estate without ever having to resort to external supplies.

This reserve allows the renewal of the vineyard to begin, giving nature time. The plots will be replanted 5 to 7 years after being pulled up to allow the soils to regenerate.

The works of the domain

. The Vines

THE VINES

The vines are worked organically, under the supervision of Pierre Derouin, Operations Manager, following the philosophy of biodynamics, but the estate is not seeking certification because we do not carry out treatments 500 and 501.

On the other hand, herbal teas and infusions (nettles, ferns, bay leaves, osiers, etc.) are prepared. We respect the lunar calendar and the astral calendar for all operations in the vineyard and in the winery. Some plots are braided to avoid trimming.

HARVEST

A quadruple sorting is carried out on the grapes. After veraison, the clusters are removed.

Then, sorting is done in the vineyard. The grapes are transported in 20 kg crates to prevent them from compacting and are protected using bioprotect, which means that no SO2 is added, without the risk of bacteriological development.

The grapes are placed in a cold room for 24 hours to lower the temperature before vatting in order to guarantee the perfect maceration temperature.

SELECTIONS AND DESTEMMING

Two sorting tables then allow the best bunches to be selected, then the best berries (after destemming) and all unwanted elements to be eliminated.

An oscilys destemmer allows you to destem the grapes without damaging them, which improves the quality of the maceration.

VAUNTING

The vats are loaded using a lifting belt to avoid using a marc pump which would stress the grapes. The vats are thermo-regulated for perfect control of the process.

The casks are filled by gravity. All the wines are placed in barrels.

"Wood remains the best container - when the aging is controlled - to refine the wines and allow micro-oxygenation during the aging necessary for Cabernet Franc which has a reductive tendency during vinification."

A double piston pump is used for devatting.

No chemicals are added during the entire process except for a small dose of SO2 to avoid any risk of oxidation (especially during transport).