In the northern part of Touraine, the Jasnières and Coteaux-du-Loir appellation areas are essentially devoted to Chenin for the whites and Pineau d'Aunis for the reds. Small vineyards with a discreet reputation, they owe their recent return to the limelight to a few winegrowers whose high standards bring out the character of the terroir: Renaud Guettier, with a fine heritage of old vines, is certainly one of the key players in the Loir Valley.
In 2004, the young agricultural engineer Renaud Guettier decided to settle in the Loir valley, on the border between the Indre-et-Loire and Sarthe, in Bueil-en-Touraine, on his family-in-law's land, to create his estate La Grapperie and to start winegrowing. His vineyards, now 6 ha, are located in the Jasnières and Coteaux-du-Loir appellation areas - AOCs that are too lax in relation to his requirements, and which he eventually gave up to become a simple Vin de France - and they are mainly made up of old, or even very old, vines (some 2 ha of century-old vines) of Chenin and Pineau d'Aunis that he has restored and brought back to life. His working principles are based on healthy grapes from a chemical-free (organic) culture, small yields, natural vinification, and long maturation to bring the wines to stability and harmony. Both white and red wines are distinguished by their richness of fruit, their straightforwardness and the energy of the minerality provided by the terroir.
