Chinon
Grower Profiles
Fabrice and his new dynamiser
Fabrice Gasnier
Fabrice
Gasnier represents the fourth generation of wine growers to be based in
the hamlet of Chézelet, located on the plains below Cravant and Panzoult;
the first recorded vintage was in 1902. Fabrice has been here since 1990,
taking over from his father, Jacky who is now in retirement. Organic
since 2000, Fabrice took his vineyards to the next level when he became
certified biodynamic with his 2008 vintage. Despite the fact that this is
a significant domaine in terms of its size, all 27 hectares are owned by
the family and everything is harvested by hand.
The
vineyards straddle the communes of Cravant and Panzoult; the majority
situated on the plain around Chézelet with a further five hectares on the
slope and plateau above Cravant. All the vineyards are planted to Cabernet
Franc (one remaining hectare of Cabernet Sauvignon was replaced in the
mid-2000s) although Fabrice established 0.80ha of Chenin Blanc on the
limestone slopes in 2010.
The range here includes four separate cuvées of Chinon rouge, a single
rosé and a bottle fermented sparkling rosé, La Cravantine
which is also produced from Cabernet Franc. The rosé
comes from one combined hectare of 20 year old vines split between
the lieux-dits of La Vallée du Roi and Les Haies Martels.
It is produced solely by pressurage direct and represents around 8%
of the cellars total production. Les Graves, as the name
suggests, comes from 11.5 hectares of 20 to 40 year old vines on the
gravel soils of Les
Haies Martels, Les Egratigneux and La Poilerie. The resulting
wine is raised in cement tanks and yields around 50,000 bottles a year.
The Vieilles Vignes is made up from a combined 5.6 hectares
of 45 year old vines in Les Batteraux, Les Haies Martels, La Vallée du
Roi and Les Clos de Chézelet. The soils here are predominantly
clay-silica and are located on a minor puy that rises to a total of
1.5 metres above the gravel plain. Fermentation and malo-lactic are
conducted in tank with the wine raised for six months in old 3,700 litre
tonneau. Signature (or from the 2009 vintage Fabrice
Garnier) is sourced from 65 to 70 year old vines planted by
Fabrice's grandfather in La Lubite and Les Batteraux. The
wine is tank fermented with the malo-lactic and (14 months) ageing
conducted in first and second-fill barriques. Finally, Cuvée à
l'Ancienne comes from 2.5 hectares of vines in the gravel, clay
and silica soils of La Queue de Poëlon in Panzoult. The wine is
raised in older Burgundy barrels for one year.
Gasnier deserves to be recognised more than he currently is and certainly
congratulated on being one of the too few producers in the appellation
that have embraced organic or biodynamic principles. The fact that
three-quarters of his red wine range see some wood within their élevage
doesn't really concern me since the wines I tasted from the 2008 and 2009
vintages were generally harmonious and demonstrated (with just one
exception) a sense of place. There was the occasional whiff of
brettanomyces in one or two wines tasted, but on the whole he gets a clean
bill of health and a commendation from this taster that his wines are well
worth seeking out.
Fabrice
Gasnier
Chézelet
CRAVANT-LES-CÔTEAUX
T:
+ 33 2 47 93 11 60
F: + 33 2 47 93 44 83
fabricegasnier@wanadoo.fr
gasnierf@wanadoo.fr
www.fabricegasnier.com