La Grange Tiphaine

An iconic Touraine estate

Today positioned as a reference for Touraine wines, the Grange Tiphaine estate was, until the 1970s, cultivated in polyculture with, cereals and tobacco, in addition to the vines. It is necessary to wait for the arrival of Jackie Delecheneau, fourth generation of the family to exploit the lands of the Grange Tiphaine, so that the vine takes the step on all the other cultures of the domain. From this stage and in spite of the ignorance of the wines of the Loire, still very present at that time, a work of more careful viticulture is engaged with, in particular, the pulling up of whole plots of hybrid vines of little quality. Instead, Chenins, Sauvignons Blancs, Cabernet Sauvignons and others that we know and love today in the Loire wines were planted.

With the arrival of Damien Delecheneau at the domain in the years 2000, we witness a new turning point in the history of the Grange Tiphaine since he very quickly made the choice of the passage to the organic agriculture then to the biodynamy, so as to magnify the terroirs of Touraine. He and his wife are now part of this new generation of winegrowers in the Loire Valley who are at the forefront of the biodynamic movement and campaign for a more committed and environmentally friendly viticulture.

La Clef de Sol

At the Delecheneau's, this philosophy of respect for the terroir is summed up in one expression: "clef de sol". It is indeed a matter of letting the terroir express itself through the wines. Here, there is no question of masking the wines with artificial inputs, with the possible exception of a slight dose of therapeutic sulfur that allows it to be stabilized at bottling.

Thus, from the work of the vineyard to the wine making, we find this thread that allows the grape and then the wine to express the singularity of each parcel. Grassing, gentle work on the soil, biodynamic treatments based on plant infusions, careful pruning, green work to limit yields... We will tell you here that 95% of the work for the production of a great wine is done in the vineyard. Vinification and maturation are not intended to "mark" the wines with new wood barrels. It is more about accompanying the wines in the most gentle and natural way possible.

The wines of La Grange Tiphaine

The Grange Tiphaine range is divided into three main categories. The first and main category: the wines under AOC Montlouis sur Loire, all from 100% Chenin, we find here the white in all its aspects: dry, sparkling (natural sparkling), semi-dry and sweet. Here, the watchword is to reflect the terroirs of tuffeau of the appellation. Thus, from the basic cuvée, Clef de Sol, to the sweet wine, l'Equilibriste, one will find a mineral framework to the tasting which will allow to enjoy a wide range of dishes from the aperitif to the dessert.

On the terroirs of Amboise, the Delecheneau family works with Chenin and Côt (the Loire name for Malbec), one white, the other red. We find a certain kinship with Montlouis on the white where the red is all about balance.

Finally, on the rest of the vineyards in AOC Touraine, we work with other grape varieties from the Loire Valley as well as blends: a vintage of Sauvignon Blanc, a vintage of Cabernet-Franc, and two red blends: Cabernet-Franc-Côt and Cabernet-Franc-Gamay-Côt.