You could be forgiven for never having heard of our wine, the Côte Roannaise The area under production hardly covers 200 hectares ( 450 acres approx ) . Lets put that into perspective; the neighbouring Beaujolais covers 23000 hectares !
WHAT IS SPECIFIC ABOUT THE COTE ROANNAISE WINE PRODUCTION AREA ?
You may even wonder what justifies our appellation’s existence.
The answer is simple; the Côte Roannaise wine production area corresponds precisely to the ideal conditions for producing Gamay wine.
As with any grape variety, it is only under ideal conditions that a wine of above average character and quality will be made. In the correct context, the wine will acquire that additional dimension : ” typicity” . We could also call it the “ terroir effect “.
Well, I can hear you say, what are these perfect conditions ?
Without any doubt, the most important factor is the SOIL TYPE.
Here everything is granite. Take a look at the old houses, they are all built of local pink granite stone.
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Old village houses made of granite stone |
In wine making terms, the important thing about our granite soils is , firstly, that it is an acidic soil. It just so happens that the gamay vine has a particular empathy for acidic soils. That is why the only grape variety that can be grown in our area is the Gamay.
The other point of interest about granite soils is that being light and sandy, they are naturally well drained.
Vines have a natural aversion to excess water and are capable of producing deep roots to search out moisture in arid soils. This is one of the reasons that vines are often planted on hillsides so that water naturally runs down the slope.
The other point of interest is that light, well drained soils warm up in the Spring faster than heavy clay soils.
The second major element of the Côte Roannaise wine producing area is the micro-climate.
MICRO-CLIMATE
Imagine yourself in a aeroplane flying over the vines. You would immediately notice that the vines are limited to a very distinct zone on the bottom of the slopes of a range of small hills called the “ Monts de la Madeleine “ The area is just 20 km long, stretching from Villemontais ( where we are ) in the south to the village if Ambierle going North. The width under vines rarely exceeds 500 or 600 metres. This narrow strip of soil equates to an altitude neither too high for obtaining ripe grapes nor too low that would render the tender shoots liable to frost damage in the Spring. Equally remarkable is that the villages around which the vines grow all benefit from a proven very low rainfall. The rain bearing clouds either wander down the the valley and liberally sprinkle the town of Roanne only 10 km away or stay stuck up on the hills behind the villages. This is known as a rain shadow. Another well known example of this is the wine producing area of Alsace which benefits from the protection of the Vosges hills which provide shelter from the prevailing rain bearing winds from the West. A glance at a rainfall chart of France will show the Côte Roannaise area as part of a 2nd caregory zone just after the Mediterranean coast which is the driest area of France.
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Weather measurements in the vines |
Housing in the villages of the Côte Roannaise is in heavy demand due to the attractiveness of the micro-climate. Why not observe this for yourself and come and stay a few nights at our Bed & Breakfast ?
The general style of wine produced in the Côte Roannaise reflects the region from which they come ; simple and unpretentious. However, we felt that it would be possible to improve on this unambitious style and try to produce a better expression of this unique terroir.
Read on to find out more about our
approach to making not only wine but authentic "vins de terroir"
Follow the grape....
Isabelle & Simon HAWKINS, Domaine du Fontenay, 42 155 Villemontais, France. tel 33 (0)4 77 63 12 22 fax 33 (0)4 77 63 15 95
Send us an e-mail : hawkins@tele2.fr