About l'Arpenty:
The Desbourdes family have lived and raised vines on this Estate since 1927. The 18 Ha Estate is located in Panzoult, a small village 8 miles to the east of the town of Chinon, where they are some of the highest altitude vineyards in the appellation. The family still uses the property’s historic cellar that is dug into the hillside.
Today, 4th generation winemaker Emilien Desbourdes lovingly farms his vines using certified organic methods. His aim is not only to respect the environment, but also to produce unique wines that express his family's vineyards. No chemicals are used (insecticides, herbicides). Instead, native ‘weeds’ are allowed to grow between rows and trees and hedges are planted near the vines when possible to encourage biodiversity. Debudding and thinning are both done by hand.
The Estate is primarily planted with Cabernet Franc. The grapes are harvested by hand and allowed to ferment for 10-15 days with native yeasts, followed by a 20-30 day maceration. Finally, the wines are lightly filtered before bottling. Total sulfite levels are only 30-40mg/L.
From Emilien’s gravelly terraces come smooth and lush wines, while his clay-limestone hills produce rich, robust wines. The result of all of Emilien’s hard work are only 2,500 cases a year of wines of depth and complexity.
