Clos de la Richardiere - A wine and gourmet getaway
If you’re looking for a premium oenological experience and want to share a convivial moment around a wine tasting accompanied by local produce, the Clos de la Richardière is the ideal place to enjoy a visit to the estate through a wine tour and a gourmet break. All in a place steeped in history!
What is le Clos de la Richardière?
Clos de la Richardière is a former winegrowing estate dating back to 1643, which produced wine until 1959 and was also a dependency of the Chanteloup estate. The estate comprises 1 hectare of Chenin Blanc vines, a park and an orchard.
Le Clos de la Richardière is also a historic site, having welcomed Louis XIV at the age of 5, when he had just been appointed King of France. Later, it was home to the Duc de Choiseul.
Today, the estate has been fully restored by Christophe Galland and his wife, who are delighted to bring it back to life with a full tour and share its history.
What’s more, the vines are now run by the Amboise Lycée Viticole.
Our experience at le Clos de la Richardiere
On arrival, we were greeted by Christophe Galland in the large avenue of 120 lime trees, soon to be classified as an “allée d’exception”. He began by telling us about the history of the estate, before directing us to the wine trail.
The aim of the wine tour is to help visitors understand the work of the winegrowers. It retraces the steps involved in working the vines, highlighting the know-how of the winemakers. The tour begins with an explanation of the structure of the vine, followed by the first task: pruning and the bending stage. We learn that vine pruning, which requires 120 hours of manual labor, takes place from November to mid-April, and helps to limit growth and regulate grape production in terms of quality and quantity.
We then continue with the following tasks: disbudding, lifting, trimming and soil maintenance, all of which require mechanical labor. Christophe Galland explains that soil maintenance is an essential task, since it involves cutting the superficial roots of the vine, which encourages the others to take root deeper down, thus combating desiccation and promoting nutrient uptake. We end our tour with the last two phases of work: vine protection, which in the case of the vines on the estate is treated with copper sulfate and sulfur. Then comes the harvest, which takes place in autumn.
It’s worth noting that the entire tour takes place in the estate’s own vineyards.
We then continued our visit with a tour of the estate’s sublime parkland, featuring 35 different species of tree, two of which are three hundred years old: a 340-year-old oak and a 300-year-old cedar.
Finally, the tour ends with a visit to the wine press. This has remained intact since the last wine harvest in 1959. This allows us to finish the visit in a place that reminds us of the estate’s winegrowing past. However, it was renovated when Christophe Galland and his wife bought Le Clos de la Richardière, making it a convivial, contemporary space.
So it was around the wine press that we were able to taste a selection of the estate’s wines and apple juice, accompanied by delicious local produce. Our tasting ended on a sweet note with a winegrower’s tart.
Why would you visit the Clos de la Richardiere?
If you’re looking for a visit that combines nature, taste and education, the Clos de la Richardière is the place for you. You’ll enjoy a visit in an exceptional, soothing setting.
Useful information
- Visits take place Monday to Saturday at 11am and 5:30pm from April to November
- Duration of visit: approx. 1h30
- 4 possible formulas
- Online reservations required (minimum 24 hours in advance) via the following link: https://clos-de-la-richardiere.fr/reservation-en-ligne/
- Sale of wines, French spirits, farm and local produce & tableware range (exclusive Lalique glassware) on site
- Address: 53 rue du Vau Bonnin, 37400 Amboise
