Andrew Jefford takes a close look at Châteauneuf’s other soil type: sand Back to a theme I last tackled in my blog of March 19th this year: the search for character differences in wines based on soil type It’s the holy grail of terroir studies – but difficult to prove is only one element in the terroir equation There’s also climate at all of its different scales as well as topography and the weather patterns of a particular vintage combined with local viticultural and wine-making practices the most useful comparisons involve wines from different soil types within a single zone and a single vintage since the variations furnished by those other non-soil factors are minimised we compared young St Chinian wines based on schist and limestone soils so in April I set off for Châteauneuf to consider wines produced there on sandy rather than rolled pebble soils Châteauneuf is a large appellation containing just over 3,200 ha of vines is almost as big as the entire Côtes de Nuits in Burgundy (which is around 3,600 ha) The visually enticing rolled pebbles known as galets roulés are the most famous but you’ll also find sandy soils and brilliantly white fractured limestone soils as well as fine gravels and marl and clay soils “What you see on the surface,” cautions Julien Barrot of Domaine La Barroche “isn’t always what’s beneath.” Sand and clay He’s had the soils in all of his parcels analysed Even some considered not to be sandy turn out to have up to 60 per cent sand every grower I met did indeed consider the principal soil types of Châteauneuf to be markedly different from one another even if the changes between zones were more gradual than soil maps suggest and even if there were more similarities between sub-soils than meets the casual eye If there is a preponderant Châteauneuf soil type to consider in contrast to the big rolled pebbles The key sand zone for Châteauneuf is the northeast quarter of the appellation The vineyards of Châteauneuf are shared by five villages but most of the sandiest ones lie in the 663 ha of Courthézon vineyards Notably sandy Courthézon lieu-dit zones include Bédines Vaudieu and Grand Pierre are all sandy zones within Châteauneuf’s village boundaries lying to the northeast of the small town itself There are indeed soils which resemble soft beach sand here but there are also soils based on what locals call safres These are differences of texture and compaction One grower defined safres to me as a grès tendre – a soft sandstone lumps of which can be disintegrated by rubbing It’s an intermediate stage between hard sandstone and soft sand as well as sands with other admixtures – such as the grès roux du Comtat: russet-coloured sandy-clay soils over limestone slabs So what’s the overall wine style given by Châteauneuf’s sandy soils Remember that Grenache is Châteauneuf’s principal grape variety (almost 75 per cent of plantings combining all of the colour variants together) even though 13 grape varieties are permitted in the AOP Grenache is never more powerful than it can be in Châteauneuf – in terms of colour and in terms of meaty or even beefy character is what the galets roulés can do – perhaps because of their legendary ‘night-storage heater’ effect but more probably because of the nutritious clays which tend to lie beneath them And that is precisely what sand doesn’t do the less ‘meaty’ and structured the Grenache will seem The red wines of Châteauneuf range from beefy to ‘burgundian’ fresh wines” was the three-word summary of Emmanuel Raynaud wet April morning to look at the key vineyard sites of Ch Rayas whose wine incarnates the ‘Grenache on sand’ style Rayas is pure Grenache grown on almost pure sands (though the soils have an admixture of clay “Our Grenache – the finest and lightest sort of Grenache – doesn’t need clay but the finest and lightest comes from these light soils of sands and safres And we also have more woodland than vines,” he pointed out suggesting that the shade and the ‘air currents’ provided by the woods are important for the Rayas style is the north-facing aspect of most of the Rayas plots which Emmanuel Reyaud says have a “cold and austere” character The effect of softness and lightness isn’t simply limited to Grenache claims Natalie Reyaud (no relation to Emmanuel) of Domaine l’Abbé Dîne a property which has recently come out of co-operative control with three out of its four hecatares of Châteauneuf on sand “It brings freshness and softness to all varieties Asparagus grown in sand is much softer and more succulent than asparagus grown in clay.” “We tend to harvest our sand parcels around 15 days earlier than those with pebbles,” says Bruno Gaspard of Clos du Caillou even though they are low in acidity – I can’t explain that We also notice that our Syrahs have less of a cooked style on sand than on pebbles.” “The fewer the pebbles the finer the wine,” summarises Mathieu Faurie-Grépon of Mas St Louis Several growers mentioned that the propensity of sand to cool down at night by comparison to rolled pebbles is an advantage nowadays to the extent that there can be a 15˚C soil difference between day and night,” says Yannick Féraud of Domaine Féraud whose vines lie in sandy Grand Pierre close to the southern sector of Pignan is a source of freshness in the finished wines be disadvantages to sandy soils in Châteauneuf but can they carry the vines through a dry spell According to Franck Mousset of the sand-soiled Domaine des Saumades Sands with up to five per cent organic matter will sustain vines through a drought whereas those with little organic content are liable to suffer “It’s true that the IPTs are lower,” says Julien Barrot “but the dry extract is as high or even higher than wines grown on pebbles.” He also feels that the quality of the tannins is different on each soil medium whereas the tannins you get on sand are very finely textured like the texture of peach skin when you lick it.” “You don’t want to overdo the elegance,” according to Baptiste Grangeon of Domaine de Cristia and Chapelle St Théodoric “since that can be perceived as dilution.” “Super fine sand soils can give you something which is a little too supple,” claims Julien Barrot Isabelle Ogier at the Guigal-owned Domaine de Nalys (which has 50 ha in the east of the appellation) praises the “aromatic finesse and fine tannins” available on sand soils but says that “the only drawback is that they sometimes give wines with a little less length” than other soils would be the advantage of blending wines from different soil origins as so many domains in Châteaueuf have always done and continue to do But it’s also worth saying that sand-only properties like Rayas have not “The `78 is just starting to be good,” confides Emmanuel Reynaud Luigi Muollo wasn’t able to be trackside at Awapuni to celebrate the victory of Pignan instead keeping a close watch on his sire Staphanos’ poster girl from afar The Novara Park principal is in the United States with family and tuned in to view the major first crop success for the stallion when the filly bagged top honours in the Gr.1 Manawatu Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) “I’ve got four sons and my eldest one Antonio is at a high level at soccer and been scouted to come over here to play in the Dallas Cup with teams from all around the world,” Muollo said “We took the opportunity to come and support and encourage him.” Pignan is trained by Lisa Latta and the youngster also provided Irish jockey Joe Doyle with his first elite level success when they accounted for Aprilia and To Catch A Thief in Saturday’s two-year-old feature Pignan is one of just eight race day representatives to date for Deep Impact’s well-credentialled son and had previously broken her maiden at Trentham before Christmas She has yet to finish out of the top three in six appearances including third placings in the Gr.2 Matamata Breeders’ Stakes (1200m) and the Listed Wellesley Stakes (1100m) “It’s a great result for us and Staphanos to have a Group One winner from his first crop,” Muollo said “We were pretty confident and knew the extra distance was going to make a huge difference and I just thought about what Lisa Latta and Joe Doyle had said “That’s what Deep Impact puts into his horses and I’m looking forward to that filly next season once she gets to a mile and beyond “I’ve got to say I am super excited about a whole bunch of other ones that I’ve got coming through and I’ve been patient “Whatever we’ve got so far is a bonus because it will be huge when they get out to 1600m Staphanos won four races up to Group Three level and was a multiple Group One placegetter during his decorated career before retiring to Muollo’s Cambridge farm “He was at his best at 2000m and we got a very good reminder about how good Staphanos was in the Dubai Sheema Classic (Gr.1 “It was won by Equinox hands down and he’s by Kitasan Black and the only reason Staphanos wasn’t a Group One winner is because he came up against Kitasan Black who was Japan’s Horse of the Year two times in a row “He pushed him to three-quarters of a-length in their biggest 2000m race (Gr.1 Osaka Hai) so we knew Staphanos was world class.” Staphanos has been well-received by breeders and Pignan’s performance is sure to increase interest “The first year he had a very good-sized book with plenty of quality the second year we went from 109 to 79 and then in his third year he dropped off a bit because we had King Of Comedy come in,” Muollo said “We didn’t syndicate Staphanos “Last year he picked up again when people saw his yearlings and went up to 75 and I’m pretty sure he will be fully booked this time “I’m not one who goes for big numbers and I think a nice number will be 130 it puts the stallion under more pressure and when you come to your clients at sale time everyone is competing against each other so we want to look after him long term.” Novara is also home to the proven Sweynesse and newcomer King Of Comedy and Muollo hasn’t completely shut the door on another addition “We’re in a very lucky position with Sweynesse being the leading New Zealand-based sire in Hong Kong so he’s in a good spot so is Staphanos and King Of Comedy’s foals are outstanding,” Muollo said “I never say no and always look for a different bloodline to bring in that might cater for a different sector of the market “The New Zealand broodmare band is still shrinking and you have to be wary and I can’t really see too many new stallions coming in.” – NZ Racing Desk Novara Park’s stallion line up remains unchanged for 2024 with all four of its stallions maintaining their 2023 service fees Deep Impact’s (Sunday Silence) son Staphanos got off to a great start with his debut crop led by Group 1 winner Pignan and that debut crop who are now three-year-olds have continued to progress at the highest level Proven stallion Sweynesse (Lonhro) has again been well represented by outstanding sprinter Lucky Sweynesse Established as the world’s highest-rated sprinter of 2023 Lucky Sweynesse has a host of accolades to his name including the New Zealand Horse of Year and Hong Kong Champion Sprinter Sweynesse was the leading New Zealand sire in Hong Kong last season and this season he currently sits second with only Per Incanto (Street Cry) ahead of him Sweynesse will remain at NZ$10,000 (plus GST) King Of Comedy (Kingman) stood his third season at stud last year and his eldest progeny are now yearlings the son of Kingman (Invincible Spirit) was also a narrow second in the St James’s Palace Stakes (Gr 1 with Too Darn Hot (Dubawi) in behind that day King of Comedy will stand at an unchanged fee of NZ$7,000 (plus GST) Dual Group 1-winning stallion Press Statement (Hinchinbrook) will maintain his fee of $6,000 (plus GST) The son of Hinchinbrook (Fastnet Rock) is the sire of 177 individual winners for more than $20 million in earnings including six stakes winners and ten stakes performers Novara Park Stud owner Luigi Muollo said of the unchanged fees: “With breeders in mind we have held our fees to the same level this year.” “Novara Park is always looking at offering upside and value for money to breeders Our stallion line-up offers breeders the best bloodlines in the world while our fees give our clients affordability.”   We use cookies to improve your online experience By continuing to use our website we assume you are happy to allow use of these cookies Cookies that are primarily for advertising purposes These are used to track user interaction and detect potential problems These help us improve our services by providing analytical data on how users use this site With a dominant performance at Trentham on Saturday promising two-year-old filly Pignan became a fitting first winner for Novara Park stallion Staphanos A placegetter in both of her two previous appearances the Lisa Latta-trained filly was a class above her four rivals in Saturday’s Kernow Construction 2YO (1100m) She produced an impressive turn of foot in the hands of jockey Joe Doyle kicking clear to score by three and a half lengths Pignan is the first runner and first winner for Staphanos who now holds a narrow lead over Embellish and Santos on New Zealand’s first-season sire standings “It was really exciting to see him sire his first winner on Saturday,” Novara Park principal Luigi Muollo said “She was actually the very first Staphanos foal to be born “We’ve always known she was a good filly She’d just missed the start in her previous race and then got a check but she won well on Saturday and it was very exciting.” Staphanos himself was a maiden winner at two but went on to far greater things as he matured The son of Deep Impact won three races up to Group Three level as a three-year-old then was a multiple Group One placegetter in Japan and Hong Kong at the ages of four “When you’re dealing with the Deep Impact breed I’ve always believed that anything you get before April or May of the two-year-old season is a bonus,” Muollo said “It’s all about getting them matured The fact that this filly was the first Staphanos born may have helped her get there a little bit quicker “I think the three-year-old season is when most of them will get there Staphanos himself was invited to the Cox Plate (2040m) at the end of his three-year-old season and then he really carried on with it as a four “With most of his progeny that I’ve got I would say they’re Guineas or classic types next season so I’m taking that approach with them Staphanos sired almost 80 foals from his first two-year-old crop and his progeny were snapped up by a number of reputable stables Chris Waller and David Ellis secured well-related Staphanos yearlings for $250,000 and $200,000 respectively “His first and second books were very big,” Muollo said “He served 109 mares in his first crop and produced 77 live foals One that I sold to Te Akau from my Explosive family was placed in a trial the other day She’s gone out for a spell now and will be back to race in March or April “Chris Waller has one out of Extra Explosive I tried to support the stallion with good numbers and quality mares Buyers will have access to a handful of yearlings by Staphanos at Karaka 2023 with eight of his progeny in the catalogue for Book 2 this spring has marked the arrival of the first foals by Novara Park newcomer King Of Comedy Runner-up in the prestigious Gr.1 St James’s Palace Stakes (1600m) at Royal Ascot King Of Comedy is by the international sensation Kingman “I’m really happy with King Of Comedy’s first foals which look very much like him,” Muollo said He was the second-fastest to 50 stakes winners “I think they’ll perform well in this part of the world The Green Desert and Invincible Spirit line has had a lot of success here with horses like I Am Invincible and Charm Spirit has popped up again lately so I think the Australians will have a lot of recognition and respect for it.” The third member of the Novara Park roster is Sweynesse who has sired 45 winners including five at black-type level and last weekend’s Hong Kong International Races left Muollo wondering what might have been “Sweynesse was very unlucky not to have a Group One performer with Lucky Sweynesse in the Hong Kong Sprint (1200m),” he said but probably would have gone close to winning the race if he did That’s the breaks in racing sometimes “He’s only going to improve from here and there’s another Group One sprint there at the beginning of February He’ll only need a little bit of luck in the running to be a very big chance in that I think he can probably get out to 1400m and maybe 1600m too because he relaxes well and doesn’t have to lead so that gives him a few more options in the future “I’ve got his dam in foal to Sweynesse again now and the dam’s half-sister is as well so hopefully there’ll be plenty more to come with this family.” – NZ Racing Desk Irish jockey Joe Doyle has returned to New Zealand to bolster the country’s riding ranks ahead of the new season The 27-year-old hoop enjoyed plenty of success in his first riding stint Downunder including the Group 1 Manawatū Sires’ Produce Stakes (1400m) aboard Pignan at Awapuni in April for Lisa Latta Doyle spent most of his time on the Ready To Run Sale circuit but lapped up the opportunity to spend some quality time with his friends and family “I rode one raceday but mostly I was doing ready-to-run sales,” he said “The ready to runners is big business at home I had a few good clients to ride for and our last sale was fantastic “I rode at four sales and had 10 rides at each sale It was keeping me on the right side kilos-wise Doyle is looking forward to attacking the new season back in New Zealand with vigour and is aiming to put in a full season before returning home “It was nice to get back and see everybody but it is certainly nice to be back and busy and try to earn a few quid again “I am back in Cambridge and I have been riding out all week I am just trying to get back into the routine and get back riding out every day so hopefully everything goes smoothly and I stay injury-free.” Despite coming back to a New Zealand winter Doyle said it hasn’t been a shock to the system and it’s the tracks that will be the biggest thing to get used to once more “It is just something different and I enjoy the variety of home Doyle is looking forward to reuniting with his Group 1 winner Pignan but he is also excited about unearthing some more young talent on the track next season “Pignan is the big one I am looking forward to riding I’ll start sitting on 2-year-olds for various outfits and hopefully we can uncover the next one.” The Karaka yearling sales are a key economic driver for the New Zealand racing industry the superstars of New Zealand racing will be acknowledged and celebrated at the prestigious New Zealand Thoroughbred Horse of the Year Awards on September 10 The black-tie dinner event will be hosted by highly-regarded racing personalities in Jayne Ivil and Michael Guerin and held at Shed 10 on Queen’s Wharf in Auckland The flat-racing finalists were recently announced and the incredible success of Kiwi horses both domestically and across the ditch in Australia was highlighted in this year’s nominations particularly in the three-year-old category Exceptional three-year-old fillies Legarto Prowess and Pennyweka joined classy gelding Sharp ’N’ Smart in taking out trans-Tasman group ones this season and were nominated for Champion Three-Year-Old alongside New Zealand Gr.1 2000 Guineas (1600m) winner Pier.  The two-year-old crop produced a strong contingent this season with Group One winners Ulanova and Pignan joined by fellow stakes winning Te Akau trio Tokyo Tycoon Trobriand and Zourion all vying for top honours as Champion Two-Year-Old A competitive and class-ridden Champion Sprinter-Miler category includes A$1m Gr.1 William Reid Stakes (1200m) winner Imperatriz and A$1m Australian Guineas (1600m) winner Legarto joined by glamour mares Levante and La Crique alongside Prise de Fer and He’s a Doozy the latter four all recording respective group one wins on New Zealand shores Three-year-old dominance in the elite domestic middle-distance races this season saw Kingsclere Stables’ Prowess better her older counterparts the Gr.1 Bonecrusher Stakes (2050m) after Team Rogerson’s Sharp ’N’ Smart took out the Gr.1 Herbie Dyke Stakes (2000m) to add to their respective middle-distance Australian group ones seeing both also nominated for the Champion Middle Distance Horse Joining the young stars in this category are Gr.1 Livamol Classic (2040m) victor Mustang Valley and impressive eight-year-old Defibrillate who returned from campaigning in Australia last season to win the Gr.1 Zabeel Classic (2050m) on Boxing Day The Champion Stayer category emulates the toughest of New Zealand’s elite talent including Jim Wallace’s Pennyweka doing the New Zealand/Australian Oaks double over 2400m and Sharp ’N’ Smart once again featuring after his victory in the ATR New Zealand Derby (2400m) Fellow top-level stayers include Auckland Cup (3200m) winner Platinum Invador Avondale Cup (2400m) winner Aquacade and Queen Elizabeth ll Cup (2400m) winner Dionysus were also successful nominees Each of the winners in these categories will be eligible for the coveted SENZ Horse of the Year title a prestigious award with a rich history of past winners Another key drawcard announced for this year’s awards is the Entain Australia and New Zealand Stablehand of the Year award with an incredible prize on offer for the winner sponsored by Entain The winning stablehand nominated by their respective trainer will receive a remarkable trip for two to The Everest held at Royal Randwick Racecourse in October two nights’ accommodation and a full hospitality package the individual winner in each of the major regions (Northern Central and Southern) will receive $2500 in prizemoney accommodation and tickets to the Awards evening courtesy of Entain Newgate and partners welcome Arrowfield Stud into the ownership of exceptional three-year-old colt Militarize Arrowfield look forward to participating in the son of Dundeel’s racing career and supporting him upon retirement to Newgate with mares from their quality broodmare band Militarize was purchased by China Horse Club/Newgate Bloodstock/Trilogy Racing from the Bhima Thoroughbreds draft at the Magic Millions Yearling Sale for $550,000 and he has won four of seven starts earning $1.7million with three of those wins coming in Group I races Racing in the famed China Horse Club colours the Chris Waller trained Militarize was an elite two-year-old winning both the Group I ATC Sires’ Produce (1400m) and Champagne Stakes (1600m) in dominant fashion Militarize has a superb European female family being from a daughter of champion sire Dubawi.