Domaine Alliet 

Domaine Alliet has been run by Philippe Alliet and his wife Claude since 1978. The 17-hectare estate's vines, mainly Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, are located in the communes of Chinon and Cravant-les-Coteaux, and some of them are 70 years old. The estate boasts superb, ideally-situated plots, notably the sloping Noiré hillside, with its south-facing clay-limestone soil. Philippe Alliet's vineyard management is based on the “lutte raisonnée” method, with particular emphasis on yield control. The discreet Claude and Philippe Alliet were the creators of a new style in Chinon in the 1990s. He favors stalk-free vinification to avoid bitterness and promote fruit purity. Fermentation is slow, with prolonged maceration (around 3 weeks) to extract color, structure and aromatic complexity. From 2010 onwards, Bordeaux barrels will be replaced by 500-liter barrels, and the proportion of new wood will be greatly reduced.