Domaine Charles Joguet

Charles Joguet founded his domaine in 1957 after abandoning a career as a painter and sculptor. Over 40 vintages, he transformed the estate into the benchmark for Chinon, retiring in 1997. The Genet family had taken partial ownership in 1985 and assumed full control upon his retirement, maintaining the domaine's founding philosophy of expressing individual vineyard character.

• Founded 1957 by Charles Joguet, trained painter and sculptor
• Genet family partial ownership from 1985, full ownership from 1997
• Anne-Charlotte Genet leads as director; Kevin Fontaine serves as winemaker
• Credited with restoring Chinon to modern fine wine recognition

The domaine's 36 hectares sit in the Sazilly area, positioned between the Loire and Vienne Rivers. Vineyard elevations range from 50 to 100 meters, with south and southwest exposures. The diversity of soils across the estate is central to the domaine's identity: sandy alluvial soils near the rivers produce lighter, earlier-drinking styles, while clay-limestone plateaus and chalky hillsides yield wines with greater structure and aging potential.

• Sandy alluvial soils, clay-limestone plateaus, chalky hillsides, calcareous clay, and siliceous chalk
• South and southwest exposures at 50-100 meters elevation
• Located between the Loire and Vienne Rivers near Sazilly
• Oldest vines in Clos de la Dioterie planted in 1930

Cabernet Franc dominates the estate with 30 hectares, producing the red wines that define the domaine's reputation. A small 2-hectare block of Chenin Blanc accounts for minimal white wine production. The continental Loire Valley climate shapes the growing season, and the combination of varied soils and vine age creates a range of styles across the single-vineyard lineup, from fresh and mineral to deeply structured and age-worthy.

• 30 hectares Cabernet Franc, 2 hectares Chenin Blanc
• Continental Loire Valley climate
• Red wine is the primary focus; white wine production is minimal
• Single-vineyard approach highlights soil and vine-age differences across the estate

Joguet's most lasting contribution to Chinon was the introduction of single-vineyard bottlings, a practice previously unknown in the appellation. He was also the first to vinify wines from younger and older vines separately, allowing each parcel's character to be expressed without blending. The domaine achieved organic certification in 2016 and continues traditional practices, including bottling by lunar calendar. The Cuvée Terroir has appeared in Masters of Wine exam tastings, reflecting the estate's academic standing in the Loire.

• First in Chinon to produce and bottle single-vineyard wines
• First to separate vinification of younger and older vines
• Organic certification achieved in 2016
• Bottles by lunar calendar; Cuvée Terroir used in Masters of Wine tastings