Why it matters
The producer
Philippe Brocourt took over the estate in 1986, when he was 21 and already becoming its second generation of family leadership. The domaine now works across five villages within the Chinon appellation, giving its bottles access to gravel plains, clay siliceous ridges and clay limestone slopes. Cabernet Franc sits at the centre of the documented range, with Les Maupas showing the grape through stainless steel, ambient yeasts and fine lees ageing.
The farming is rigorously sustainable, without official organic certification. In the cellar, natural fermentation and limited intervention keep the method focused on the fruit and the vineyard material, while thermoregulated stainless steel vats provide controlled conditions for vinification.
Place and vineyards
Where the wines begin
Chinon is the appellation that gathers these vineyards under one name. The estate's five village footprint brings several kinds of ground into that appellation, so a Chinon bottle from this domaine can be read through both its regional label and its individual cuvée. Cabernet Franc is the grape most clearly attached to the range, and the different wines show how the estate works with that grape across varied sites.
The label relationship is straightforward: Chinon names the appellation, Cabernet Franc names the confirmed grape in Les Maupas 2020, and the cuvée name identifies the bottle within the domaine's range.
In the cellar
Vineyards and cellar
Sustainable farming is paired with a modern vinification facility containing thermoregulated stainless steel vats. Stainless steel provides the principal documented setting for fermentation, while ambient yeasts carry the natural fermentation described for the estate. Fine lees ageing is used to keep fruit at the centre of the wine, adding a fuller feel without changing the cuvée into an oak driven style.
Oak barrels also form part of the cellar record, and the wines age in tufa cellars. Les Maupas has the most complete documented method: stainless steel fermentation with natural yeasts, fine lees ageing and maturation in tufa. Its fruit forward character follows directly from those choices.
Wines to know
The range in view
The range is organised around red Chinon cuvées, with Cabernet Franc clearly confirmed for Les Maupas 2020 and treated as the central grape in the documented portfolio. Les Maupas is the fruit led expression. Its brilliant ruby colour, toasted nut and spice aromas, black pepper, raspberry and black currant lead into a smooth, balanced palate.
Les Graviers brings a sibling reading of the estate, with brilliant ruby colour, red fruit, pepper and warm roasted notes, followed by raspberry and blackcurrant. Les Coteaux carries red cherry, black cassis, peppery spice and dried herbs.
A useful way in
A bottle to begin with
Les Maupas 2020 is the right first bottle because its grape, cellar method and taste profile are all documented together. It is 100% Cabernet Franc, fermented in stainless steel with natural yeasts, aged on fine lees and matured in tufa cellars. In the glass, it is brilliant ruby, scented with toasted nuts and spice, then smooth with black pepper, raspberry and black currant. The fine lees and stainless steel keep the fruit forward, so the bottle presents both the grape and the estate's cellar choices in one clear sequence.