Adonis Red 2021

Adonis Rouge 2021

La Grapperie

Tuffeau, tuffeau, and always tuffeau! The porous mineral emblematic of the Loir hillsides contributes to producing refined and distinguished wines. This Adonis red is draped in a beautiful garnet color, giving way to a complex nose of red fruits: strawberry, cherry, smoked blackberry, sweet herbs... On the palate, a beautiful structure between black pepper and raspberry. Spicy and peppery, with a lovely sweet and yeasty note on the attack that adds to its deliciousness, Adonis is made from 100% Pineau d'Aunis, a fiery and light grape variety, one of the oldest in the Loire Valley. It is entirely made from old vines (seventy-five years old) planted in the Coteaux du Loir appellation, on soils dominated by tuffeau, clay and flint. The harvest is manual, transported by horse. The harvest is fermented for three weeks in whole bunches with light crushing, using indigenous yeasts. It is aged for six months in vats; no oak therefore seasons the purity of the Pineau d'Aunis. A marvel, to drink as an aperitif to warm up, or to serve on the table for varied and refined pairings.

To find out more
In the Coteaux du Loir appellation, La Grapperie is the name of the estate of Renaud Guettier, who can be described as a master of Chenin, but also of Pineau d'Aunis, which is one of the oldest grape varieties in the Loire Valley. His principle, he confides, is "to produce complex, rich wines with good aging potential and imbued with the minerality of their terroir." The vines are located on hillsides, between 60 and 120 meters above sea level, protected from the north winds by the Bercé forest. Depending on the altitude, the terroirs are dominated by clay (at the bottom of the slope), flint (mid-slope) or sand (on the higher ground). The 60-hectare vineyard comprises around fifteen plots. The grape varieties are the two traditionally authorized varieties in the appellation: Chenin for the whites and Pineau d'Aunis for 90% of the reds, the remainder consisting of a few ares of Côt, Gamay and Grolleau. The average age of the vines is seventy years, including almost two hectares of century-old vines and one and a half hectares of vines aged sixty to eighty years. Convinced of the enormous potential that these old vines can bring to his vintages, Renaud is meticulous in restoring the vineyard. The entire estate is cultivated organically. The soils are worked and all viticultural interventions are manual, including the harvest, carried out at full maturity, which is reflected in the fullness and smoothness of the wines. For the reds, the Pineaux d'Aunis are partially destemmed (depending on the plot) and the macerations are quite long, three to four weeks, with punching down, to promote aging potential. The wines are aged in barrels for between twelve and twenty-four months, then racked, blended and bottled without filtration. For the whites, the Chenins are pressed directly at low pressure and then barreled by gravity. Fermentation takes place in barrels, using indigenous yeasts, with complete malolactic fermentation, for at least eighteen months and sometimes up to thirty-six months.