Appellation
Chinon
Identity card
VillageAOPRedRoséWhite
Loire Valley › Touraine · Recognised on 31 July 1937
- Village
- Regional
Key points
- At most 55 hl/ha for all three colours.
- Natural alcohol at least 10.5% for red and rosé, 10% for white.
- Reds released from 1 January after the harvest.
Grape varieties
RedRosé
Accessory varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon (10% at most of the holding's vines)
Cabernet Franc makes up most of any blend; never Cabernet Sauvignon alone
Production rules
55
hl/ha
Maximum yield
4,500
vines/ha
Minimum planting density
Minimum ageing: Reds: aged until at least 14 December of the harvest year
- Maximum yield
- How much wine a hectare may produce under the appellation (a higher, exceptional ceiling often exists). The lower it is, the less can be made: one of the levers on how concentrated the grapes are. For reference: 35 hl/ha to 80 hl/ha across 129 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum planting density
- The fewest vines allowed per hectare. For the same yield, more vines means fewer grapes on each. For reference: 4,000 vines/ha to 9,000 vines/ha across 136 Oenopia appellations of the same colour.
- Minimum ageing
- A minimum ageing period the specification requires before the wine may be sold to consumers.
Terroir
- Lie of the land: Slopes and plateau edges on both banks of the Vienne
- Soils: Soft Turonian chalk; Vienne sands and gravels
- Climate: Oceanic to semi-continental, warmer, drier than its region
Wine style
- Red
- dark ruby to garnet
- red and black fruit
- present, rounded tannins
- some for keeping
- Rosé
- red and white fruit
- fresh, fairly intense
- sometimes citrus, pepper
- White
- Honey
- Toasted almond
- Quince
- young: fruity, floral
Boundaries: INAO, AOC vineyard plot delimitation (September 2026 edition) · Open Licence
Specification
8 June 2026
Arrêté du 8 juin 2026 homologuant le cahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Chinon » (JORF n°0135 du 11 juin 2026 ; BO Agri du 18 juin 2026), qui remplace le cahier des charges homologué par le décret n° 2011-1557 du 15 novembre 2011, modifié le 17 août 2016. Appellation initialement reconnue par le décret du 31 juillet 1937.
Labelling terms
- The geographical name "Vin de Loire" may be added
- The name of a registered lieu-dit may appear on the label
Nearby appellations
Sources
- Official sourceCahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Chinon », homologué par l'arrêté du 8 juin 2026— Bulletin officiel du ministère de l'Agriculture (BO Agri)
- Reference bookThe Oxford Companion to Wine— Oxford University Press
- Official sourceArrêté du 17 août 2016 modifiant le cahier des charges de l'appellation d'origine contrôlée « Chinon »— Bulletin officiel du ministère de l'Agriculture (BO-AGRI)
- Trade bodyVins de Loire — site officiel d'InterLoire— InterLoire — Interprofession des Vins du Val de Loire
Across twenty-six communes of the Indre-et-Loire, on both banks of the Vienne and the left bank of the Loire and the Indre, Chinon makes reds and rosés from Cabernet Franc, the majority of any blend, with Cabernet Sauvignon in support (at most 10% of a holding's vines), and whites from Chenin Blanc alone. The specification links the slopes of tuffeau, a soft Turonian chalk, to reds with good tannic structure, and the sandy-gravel soils of the valley to a fruity aromatic expression; some of the fuller reds repay a few years in the cellar.
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Chinon
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