Vignobles Laffourcade

Savennières, Loire Valley, France Nestled in a curve of the Loire River lies the tiny hamlet of Savennières, a town surrounded by vines and aristocratic châteaux. Winemakers in this idyllic location are inevitably influenced by Nicolas Joly, leader of the Biodynamic movement, though not all subscribe to his principles. Pascal Laffourcade is the son of a négociant who bought vines in the Quarts de Chaume appellation in the Loire in 1959, followed by Château de L’Echarderie in Rochefort-sur-Loire in 1962. Since then, Laffourcade has built up the business to a total of 30 hectares and has added Château Perray, just outside Thouarcé. He entered Savennières in 1988 by way of renting Le Clos de Royauté, an existing vineyard, from Baron Brincard. Le Clos borders the park of the Château de la Bizolière; its schist and sandy soils cover just over five hectares. The soils of this vineyard are planted with grasses in between the vines; the increased competition for nutrients balances the vineyard ecosystem, pushing the vines to produce better grapes. No chemicals are used in the vineyard operations and all harvesting is completely manual. The Domaine relies on indigenous yeasts in the cellar. Pascal’s son Thomas now oversees viticultural and vinification operations