Chinon
Grower Profiles
Serge & Bruno Sourdais
The
origin
of Le Logis de la Bouchardière dates back to 1850. The current incumbent
is Bruno Sourdais who represents the 6th generation on the domaine. Bruno
joined his father, Serge, in 1990, taking control from the 2008 vintage.
Three-quarters of the domaines 55 hectares are located on the coteau
above the communes of Cravant, Chinon and Panzoult, although the family
only own 16 hectares of these outright. There is no Chenin planted.
Winemaking is very traditional in that everything (excluding their rosé)
passes through wood at some stage in its élevage, with the more
serious wines receiving between 12 and 15 months in barrel. The
rosé is obtained from either a saignée or a 24 hour
cold maceration. There are five separate red wines, three of which are
parcel specific. The range starts with the Sourdais Taveau
which is produced off 5 to 15 year old vines from the plain below the
cellar. After a short period in older oak, the wine is bottled in the
spring following the harvest. Le Clos is a six hectare
parcel of 35 to 45 year old vines on the well drained flinty soils on a
slope above Cravant, whilst La
Logis de la Bouchardière forms the basis of the domaine's
production and comes from 30 year old vineyards. Le Chêne Vert
is a name well known to lovers of Chinon, although few realise that
Domaine Charles Joguet shares one hectare with another vigneron. At
30 years, the vines are younger than those of Joguet and the exposure also
different; an 18% slope which faces south-west. The vines are rented from
Bruno's father-in-law and the resulting wines are raised for one year in
barriques. Les
Cornuelles Vieilles Vignes is from 2.5 hectares on a south-facing
slope; the name derived from the pieces of flat limestone found within the
parcel. The vines here were planted in two separate stages; the youngest
were planted by Bruno's grandfather and are now 60 years old, but the
oldest vines are over 100 years.
Somewhat suspicious and guarded, Bruno Sourdais gives little away. His
wines, thankfully, speak for him. Stuck away up a side valley at the top
of Cravant, one feels that he relishes a degree of relative anonymity
(despite the fact that he runs a basic website and is contactable - in
theory - on e-mail). In terms of the wines, I was very impressed and have
no reservations in proclaiming this as one of the top dozen or so wine
producers in the appellation, with Les Cornuelles 2008 being
one of the best wines I tasted during the course of my research in the
region and certainly deserving Guide Hachette's accolade of Coup de
Coeur for the year.
Serge
& Bruno Sourdais
Le Logis de la Bouchardière
CRAVANT-LES-CÔTEAUX
T:
+ 33 2 47 93 04 27
F: + 33 2 47 93 38 52
info@sergeetbrunosourdais.com
www.sergeetbrunosourdais.com