ESTATE'S HISTORY
at Chinon since 1470
THE ORIGINS
Le Château de Coulaine is a very ancient family exploitation passed on from generation to generation since the Le Boucher and the Garguesalles until the Denys de Bonnaventure and the de Kerros.
The castle was built in 1470 by Jehan de Garguesalles, and we have archives proving that the wine was produced since 1430 approximately. My ancestors built a big farm, and wine was not at all the only good, among cereals and silk production...
In 1534 Coulaine is quoted by Rabelais in his book Gargantua, he used as a decor many places in the area of Chinon and Véron and quoted massively Chinon’s wines.
In 1787 the surface was around 4 ha and the production like everywhere was low, around 15hl/ha. We know that from a harvest diary that was kept by one of my ancestor: Henri Quirit de Coulaine.
During the XIXth century, the vineyard is ravaged by phylloxera. In the early XXth, the estate enters in the Denys de Bonnaventure family through wedding, recovering its roots in Touraine after spending centuries between La Rochelle and Canada.
Contemporary period
A few plots survive as best as possible and are replanted with grafts and on massal selection from old vines between 1950 and 1970 by my grandfather Jacques Denys de Bonnaventure. Since 1937 the Chinon Appellation has protected wines produced within it, so my grandfather was one of the first to claim Chinon’s wine produced at Coulaine.
Etienne and Pascale Denys de Bonnaventure, my parents, took over and modernized the estate in 1988. It is a huge project that will last 30 years. They replanted ancient plots and participate in the development of new terroirs such as Les Pieds Rôtis or Les Picasses.
In 1994 they officialy switched to organic agriculture: the first ones at Chinon.
Lastly
In 2017, after my studies as an agricultural engineer and oenologist, I took over the family estate with my wife Tatiana in the respect of the plant, its terroir and what has been achieved in the past.
