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Vincent Ricard
Domaine Ricard is situated on the southern facing slopes of the Cher River in the Touraine region, not far from Chenonceau. The Ricard family has been growing vines here for generations. Vincent’s grandfather was a founding member of the local co-op but it was not until Vincent took over that they started making their own wines. He farms 17 hectares of vines which are predominantly Sauvignon Blanc, but he also grows Caberbnet Franc and Cot (Malbec). Very early on he got in to trouble with the authorities for producing a red wine with too much structure and concentration and therefore atypical of the appellation! When he applied for appellation controlée he was denied it because his wines were so completely different to the bulk wines produced by the local co-operatives. Vincent’s wicked sense of humour and healthy disregard for the status quo led him to duly label his red Le Vilain P’tit Rouge, “the little red villain”.