La Grange Tiphaine

A landmark Touraine estate

Today positioned as a benchmark for Touraine wines, the Grange Tiphaine estate was, until the 1970s, cultivated on a mixed farming basis with, cereals and tobacco, in addition to vines. It wasn't until the arrival of Jackie Delecheneau, the fourth generation of the family to farm the Grange Tiphaine estate, that vines took precedence over all other crops on the estate. From this stage onwards, and despite the lack of knowledge of Loire wines, which was still very prevalent at the time, a more meticulous approach to viticulture was adopted, including the uprooting of entire plots of low-quality hybrid grape varieties. Instead, the Chenins, Sauvignons Blancs, Cabernet Sauvignons and others we know and love today in Loire wines were planted.

The arrival of Damien Delecheneau at the domaine in the 2000s marked a new turning point in the history of La Grange Tiphaine, as he quickly made the choice to switch to organic and then biodynamic farming, in order to magnify the terroirs of Touraine. Today, he and his wife are part of a new generation of winegrowers in the Loire region who are at the forefront of the biodynamic movement, campaigning for a more committed viticulture that respects the environment.

La Clef de Sol

For the Delecheneau family, this philosophy of respect for the terroir can be summed up in one expression: "clef de sol". It's all about letting the terroir express itself through the wines. Here, there's no question of masking the wines with artificial inputs, with the possible exception of a small dose of therapeutic sulfur to stabilize them at bottling.

So, from vineyard work to vinification, we follow the same thread that allows the grapes and then the wine to best express the uniqueness of each plot. Weed control, gentle tillage, biodynamic treatments based on plant infusions, careful pruning, green harvesting to limit yields... We can tell you that 95% of the work involved in producing a great wine is done in the vineyard. Vinification and ageing are not intended to "brand" the wines with new wood barrels. It's more about accompanying the wines in the gentlest, most natural way possible.

The wines of La Grange Tiphaine

The Grange Tiphaine range is divided into three main categories. The first and main category: AOC Montlouis sur Loire wines, all made from 100% Chenin grapes, featuring all types of white wine: dry, effervescent (natural sparkling), off-dry and sweet. Here, the watchword is to reflect the appellation's tuffeau terroirs. So, from the basic cuvée, Clef de Sol, to the liqueur-like wine, l'Equilibriste, you'll find a mineral framework for tasting that will delight a wide range of dishes, from aperitif to dessert.

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

Finally, on the rest of the Touraine AOC vines, we work with other Loire grape varieties and blends: a cuvée of Sauvignon Blanc, a cuvée of Cabernet-Franc, and two red blends: Cabernet-Franc-Côt and Cabernet-Franc-Gamay-Côt.