Châteaumeillant

Styles

Principal grape varieties

Accessory grape varieties

Terroir

• The geographical zone forms an east–west-oriented band approximately twenty kilometres long and five kilometres wide, crossed by a network of seven streams and rivers that delimit gently sloping ridges.
• The vineyard occupies a restricted area of Triassic origin, in contact with the Lias to the north and the Hercynian massif to the south, the latter being metamorphic, more clayey, and considerably eroded.
• The plots delimited for the harvest rest on sandy-clayey Triassic sedimentary formations and on metamorphic formations in which gneisses predominate.
• The geographical zone benefits from a tempered oceanic climate and a tempered continental climate, with mean annual rainfall of 809 millimetres linked to Atlantic influences.
• Mean temperatures remain below 10°C during the winter period and early spring, while those of the months in the grape-ripening period all exceed 17°C.

• The presence of vines at Châteaumeillant is attested as early as 582 by Gregory of Tours, before the vineyard saw genuine development during the Middle Ages, from the thirteenth century onwards.
• The vineyard reached its maximum extent around 1860 with the lasting establishment of the 'plant lyonnais', the local name for Gamay, before being destroyed by phylloxera at the end of the nineteenth century.
• The gris wines, with their pale colour and aromas of citrus and white fruits, account for one-third of production and have built the reputation of the Châteaumeillant vineyard.

• The poor soils derived from the foothills of the Hercynian massif and the Triassic sedimentary formations naturally limit vine vigour and yields and, together with the favourable climate during the grape-ripening period, allow harvests to be brought in at optimal ripeness.
• The plots developed on metamorphic rocks and on a sandy-clayey substratum allow the red wines to distinguish themselves through notes of small red fruits and a fine tannic structure underpinned by minerality.

Facts drawn from the specification's terroir-link section by automatic interpretation — see the source.

All appellations in France

Sources

• Product specification (BO Agri, PDF) — approved 8 septembre 2011 et modifié par décret n° 2013-1075 du 28
• Official INAO text (show_texte)
• INAO product entry
• Official trade body site — BIVC — Vins du Centre-Loire