Haut-Poitou

France · AOC · Loire Valley

Styles

Natural factors

Gently rolling plateau at 80–120 m, with hillocks reaching 150 m; vines planted on summits and upper south-facing slopes, in scattered island-like plots.
Jurassic soils: "terres de groies", clay-limestone, either "petites groies" (shallow, stony) or "grosses groies" (deeper, more clayey).
Oceanic climate with a continental tendency: annual mean temperature of 12–13 °C, 600–700 mm of rainfall per year, and more than 1,900 hours of sunshine.
Zone covering 30 communes in the northern Vienne and 1 commune in the Deux-Sèvres, at the "Seuil du Poitou", the southern boundary of the Val de Loire. (via Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0)

Human factors

As early as 876, documented evidence of cultivated vines at Neuville; in the Middle Ages, the varieties chenin, érage, quercy, cot, and pineau rouge are recorded.
Replanting in the 1960s towards noble varieties; a conservatory of fié gris established in 1991 for clonal selection.

Product characteristics

Whites: floral and fruity aromas (white and yellow flowers, citrus); reds: ruby colour, small red fruits, morello cherry, spice.
Light, crisp rosés with ripe fruit aromas; the rosé made by saignée of cabernet franc is best drunk within 1–2 years, served at 9–10 °C.

Facts drawn from the cahier's terroir-link section (Lien au terroir) by automatic interpretation — see the source.