Winery - Isabelle et Xavier Frissant

Winery

For 8 generations, the FRISSANT family has passed their winemaking tradition from father to son.

Xavier Frissant works 15 hectares of vines located on the slopes south of the Loire river in the commune of Mosnes.

Our vineyards are from a range of 5 different lieux-dits, which offer 2 different terroirs:

– Siliceous clay soils that are rich in flint. These soils are found in the “des Frênes,” “des Pierres,” and the “de la Touche” vineyards.

– Silty sand soils found in the “Hauts-Noyers” and the “Clos du Verger” vineyards.

Each grape variety is planted in keeping with its soil type, to allow the best expression of terroir and maximum complexity in the final wine. Our terroirs are spread across the following appellations:
– AOC Touraine Amboise: the white wines are Chenin Blanc, a variety known for its rich yet delicate wines. The red wines are made of Côt Noir grapes (also known as Malbec), making them age-worthy with structured finesse.
– AOC Touraine: which is entirely planted to white-wine grapes, especially Sauvignon Blanc, a variety that nicely expresses the minerality of our terroir.

– IGP du Val de Loire is produced with a heritage variety, the “Fié Gris,” an old relative in the Sauvignon family of grape varieties. It is distinctive for its simultaneously rich and delicate expression of unctuous floral notes.

We have been in organic conversion since 2018. Treatments in our vineyards are carried out exclusively in function of need, when dramatic weather events, disease risks, and harmful insect infestations that threaten the health of our harvest. This practice permits us to avoid any abusive, unnecessary treatments, respecting the ecosystem and human life.

In the cellar, we adapt our winemaking techniques to the terroir and varieties in order to encourage elegance and structure in the final wines. Vinification may take place in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, in large oak tanks, or in oak barrels.

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We take care of our vines in the following ways

Maintaining healthy soils

– In the autumn, we earth up our young vines to protect them from frost in the winter and early spring.
– We plow the rows and in-between our vines using interceps, to promote biodiversity in our soils.
– We encourage growth of small grasses and other plants to limit soil erosion.
– This grass coverage also provides competition with our vines for soil nutrients, which helps control vine vigor and yields.
– To keep this natural competition in check, we mow regularly throughout the growing season.

Tending to the vines throughout the growing season:
– Pruning
– De-budding
– Removal of surplus branches and shoots
– De-leafing
– Removal of excess buds on new shoots
– Green harvest

These activities start in the spring and go until harvest, ensuring a successful vintage. Once the vegetative period has ended, we pass to the step of grape maturation, which continues up to when the grapes are picked.

"Once the vegetative period is over, we move on to the ripening of the grapes which lasts until the harvest ..."

In the cellar:

White wines:

Grapes are harvested and de-stemmed, pressed in a pneumatic press, then cold-settled. Alcoholic fermentation is temperature-controlled to preserve the fresh primary aromas of the grapes.
Following alcoholic fermentation, our wines age on their fine lees. For the Sauvignon Blanc wines, this takes place in stainless steel tanks. Our wines made from Chenin Blanc and Fié Gris are aged in oak barrels for 3 to 6 months, depending on the cuvée. During the aging process, we do some bâtonnages in order to keep the lees in suspension and lend a refined quality to our finished wines

The Rosés:

Our rosé wine is made from Côt and Gamay. Each variety is pressed separately in a pneumatic press just after being picked, permitting us to conserve the maximum of fresh aromas possible

Red wines:

All of our red wines are primarily made from Côt grapes. The « Les Hauts Noyers » is a fresh, fruit-forward wine thanks to a short maceration and temperature-controlled fermentation in stainless steel tanks. Our “Confidentielles” wines have a longer maceration of 2 to 3 weeks, ensuring the extraction of more complex aromas and age-worthy structure. These wines are vinified in either stainless steel tanks or large oak tanks.

To ensure stability in our wines, aging takes place in oak barrels and lasts 9 to 15 months, depending on the cuvée.

Isabelle et Xavier Frissant
1, Chemin neuf
37530 Mosnes

+ 33 (0) 2. 47. 572. 318
xf@xavierfrissant.com

Isabelle et Xavier Frissant
VIGNERONS
– A.O.P. Touraine
– Amboise
– Crémant de Loire

Découvrez nos gîtes
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