Chateau de Belleverne, Chenas 2018

Chénas is named after chênaies, the dense oak forests which blanketed the Beaujolais region before Philippe V ordered them all to be cut down to make room for grapevines. Today, the vineyards of Chénas cover just 237ha, the lowest production cru in Beaujolais. Soils are mainly granite, with some
areas of schist and fertile alluvial clay. Granite and Gamay go hand in hand as granite contains lots of quartz; quartz soils are generally poor (great for vines), drain really well and, most importantly, when rain meets quartz you get silicic acid. Acid is good for Gamay. It stimulates deep root growth and – counterintuitively – keeps grape acidity in check.