Located in a triangle between Vienne and the Loire, the Chinon appellation is renowned for its red wines and lies over subsoil of fairly tender chalk known as tuffeau. The town of Chinon was Henry II of England's favourite residence, and it was here in 1429 during the One Hundred Years War that Joan of Arc identified the future Charles VII in the castle's banquet hall. In 1494, Chinon also saw the birth of one of France's most illustrious humanists and writers, Rabelais. The only grape variety in Chenin Blanc is the Chenin (or the Pineau de la Loire). It lends itself to supple, fresh wines with notes of citrus fruits and dashes of wallflower and hints of honey and quince.