DOMAINE DES AUBUISIÈRES

Despite Vouvray's storied wine-making past (its origins extending back to the monks of the abbey of Marmoutier founded in 372 by Saint Martin), many of the appellation's leading domaines have a fairly short history. Domaine des Aubuisières is no exception. Both the domaine and its reputation owe themselves to the humble work of Bernard Fouquet, who built the estate up from the few small plots of vines he inherited from his father.

Bernard's father André Fouquet was not so much a vigneron as a pépiniériste, a "nurseryman" who specialized in grafting new vines. In 1978 André took over 6 hectares of vineyards from Gérald Bruley des Varannes (the winemaker at Château des Girardières). These holdings became the basis for Bernard's beginnings as a winemaker starting in 1982.

The domaine's parcels contain the two classic terroirs of Vouvray: limestone and flint (silex in French). Some plots are rich in flint fragments of various sizes embedded in clay, a soil type known locally as perruches (flinty clays combined with silica). Others are characterized by limestone (specifically "tuffeau," a lower-density limestone variant formed from sediment and fossilized sea creatures) mixed with clay, a blend known as aubuis, the apparent namesake of the domaine.

From 1990 to 1996 Bernard acquired additional plots in Le Plan de Jean, Le Marigny, and Le Bouchet, all rich in clay-limestone soils. Other acquisitions included the 10 hectares of flint-peppered vineyards in Les Girardières. In 2013, the estate absorbed a coveted 2-hectare clay-limestone plot previously rented by Domaine Huet: Le Petit Clos. The wines from this hillside have been vinified in sandstone amphorae since 2021 to contribute to the wine's roundness.

Bernard retired in 2021, handing the reins to Charles Lesaffre. Charles is the grandson of Gérald Bruley des Varannes, the man from whom Bernard's father André acquired his first vineyards, thereby bringing the story of the Domaine full circle. An avid practitioner of viticulture and oenology, Charles joined Bernard as an associate in 2019. Two years into his tenure, Charles has put an emphasis on organic and biodynamic practices. Charles has continued, as Bernard before him, to capture the unique Vouvray mineral tones, along with the wonderfully balanced expression of fruit of the Chenin Blanc grape, in his wines.