VIGNOBLE DUBREUIL

Husband-and-wife team Stéphane and Laure Dubreuil have been making wine together since 2010. It was then that Stéphane, representing the seventh generation of winegrowers in his family, took over from his parents. Since that time the estate has almost doubled in size, covering 50 hectares of vineyards. Their holdings span across the Touraine and Touraine Oisly AOPs. Compared to the sizable Touraine appellation, Touraine Oisly is rather small: it totals only 20 hectares and is home to just a handful of winemakers.

The Dubreuils devote 30 of their 50 hectares to growing Sauvignon Blanc, the emblematic grape variety of the region. Their other white varietals are Chardonnay and Chenin, with Gamay, Cabernet Franc and Côt accounting for their reds.

Their winery is located just outside the village of Couddes in the Loir-et-Cher department, about 8km south of the small commune Le Controis-en-Sologne and roughly 8km northeast of the eastern banks of the Cher.

While there are differences between Touraine Oisly and Touraine regarding climate and topsoil – the former characterized by warmer, drier continental weather, the latter more varied in terms of sand / clay depth and presence of flint – the appellations do share a common subsoil: Turonian limestone. This type of limestone, so abundant in the region that it was named after an archaic spelling of Tours where it was first identified, is younger than that found in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. When it began forming some 90 million years ago, much of Europe was covered by a shallow sea full of marine life. The calcium-rich remains – the shells, bones and teeth – of the sea creatures were a key ingredient in this sandy-yellow limestone known colloquially as tuffeau jaune.

In addition to the 50 hectares of vines the family also cultivates grains. The resulting polyculture between the different crops provides natural resilience against pests and mildew. Their son, Leo, follows in his parents’ steps with his oenology training in Amboise as well as his work in the vineyards and winery.