Chinon

Chinon is a commune located in the Indre-et-Loire department in the Region Centre, France. The regional area is called the Touraine, which is known as the "garden of France".

It is well known for its wines as well as its castle (the Château de Chinon) and historic town. Chinon played an important and strategic role during the Middle Ages, having served both French and English kings.

Chinon is in the Loire valley, registered as a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 2000.

History

The historic town of Chinon is on the banks of the Vienne river about 10 kilometres (6 mi) from where it joins the Loire. Settlement in Chinon dates from prehistoric times, with a pronounced importance for both French and English history in the Middle Ages. At this period rivers were the main trade routes, and the Vienne River joins both the fertile regions of the Poitou and the city of Limoges, and is a tributary of the Loire, which acted as a traffic thoroughfare. The site was fortified early on, and by the 5th century a Gallo-Roman castrum had been established there.

Chinon (disambiguation)

Chinon may refer to

Not to be confused with:

Chinon AOC

Chinon wine comes from the vineyards around the town of Chinon in Touraine. Unusual for the Loire Valley, it is mostly red wine, with 2-5% rosé and a little white wine.

Geography

The town of Chinon is situated on the banks of the River Vienne in Indre-et-Loire. The vineyards of the Chinon AOC cover the relatively steep banks of the Vienne as well as the less steep slopes running northward from the hills above Chinon to the Loire. The vineyards consist almost entirely of erosional scree and gravels on top of rather hard Turonian limestones. Toward the Loire itself, the Turonian limestones give way to the Jurassic rock of the Loire.

Styles

The reds and rosés are made from Cabernet Franc, with an allowance of 10% Cabernet Sauvignon. They are typically dry and light to medium bodied and go well with food. In good vintages the red wines can be cellared for 10 years or more. Cabernet Franc grown on the stony terraces of the area tends to be a young wine with dominant notes of blackcurrant and anise. The wines from the steeper rockier areas along the hills that separate the Loire from the Vienne tend to produce wines that are more tannic and express the more austere terroir in a range of alkaloid flavors that give the wines a mineral, gamey complexity and a strong tannic backbone. These wines also tend to develop a velvety depth of spice flavors as they age. Though typically thought of as lighter wines, reds from good producers and strong vintages can be full bodied and well structured for aging. Their whites are composed primarily of Chenin blanc. They are typically described as dry, soft, light, and fresh.