Château Yvonne

Loire Valley
France
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Château Yvonne

Loire Valley
France
France
PRODUCER
Matthieu Vallée
ESTABLISHED
1997
FARMING PRACTICE
Biodynamic, Organic
REGION
Loire Valley
France
CITY / VILLAGE
CLIMATE
Maritime
ELEVATION
SIZE

About

Matthieu Vallée of Château Yvonne is one of our most sought-after Loire Valley producers, having taken his place over the last several years as one of the leading vignerons in Saumur. The Yvonne estate itself is a special one, for those who don’t know it well: a history dating from the 16th century, when the château was built by the monks at the Abbaye de Fontevraud; winemaking beginning there in the early 1800’s, and then a renaissance at the property a century later, with rehabilitation taking place starting in 1997. Since then, the 30 small parcels of vines totaling 13ha have been farmed organically, with many of the best vineyards located in ‘La Côte,’ or the plateau next to the church of Parnay overlooking the Loire. (Much attention has been given to the limestone outcrop of Brézé further south; historically the vineyards of La Côte were just as highly regarded.)

We’re very proud to be able to offer these wines each year – Vallée’s work at Yvonne is some of the finest and most ageworthy French wine in our portfolio. You’ll be rewarded if you or your customers lay some of these wines down for cellaring; they are wines of substance and will evolve beautifully with time. Of course, Vallée has done some of that work for the drinker ahead of time with longer élevage in cellar, but it’s worth noting this domaine’s very consistent ability to demonstrate these wines’ grace over time.

As of the 2022 vintage, we’re happy to offer a new wine from Château Yvonne, comprised of 20-50 year-old vines of Pineau d’Aunis called ‘Bay Rouge,’ a carbonically-macerated wine that expressed a lot of the herbal qualities of the reds of this domaine but in a distinctly lighter, more ethereal expression. It’s only the second vintage Vallée has made, and we’re excited to see a new variety expressed here in Saumur beyond the domaine’s long-term ability with Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc.

Products

Saumur Blanc

TYPE
Still / White
VARIETAL
Chenin Blanc
FARMING PRACTICE
Biodynamic, Organic
DETAILS

Biodynamic & certified organic. 100% Chenin Blanc. From 3 hectares of vines ranging from 5 years to over 80 years in age. Clay/limestone soils over tuffeau stone. Hand-harvested in small bins. Native yeast fermentation with no additions in barrel at cool temperatures for 4 months. Malolactic fermentation occurs naturally during aging in oak (less than 20% new barrels for 12 months). Bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal sulfur.

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Saumur Blanc 'Le Gory'

TYPE
Still / White
VARIETAL
Chenin Blanc
FARMING PRACTICE
DETAILS

Biodynamic & certified organic. 100% Chenin Blanc. Le Gory is Yvonne’s top white wine, hailing from a parcel within La Côte that allows Chenin Blanc to develop complexity and depth—its terroir of nutrient-rich red clay, sandstone, and limestone provide what Chenin Blanc needs to achieve full ripeness while maintaining lively acidity. Château Yvonne only produces two-three barrels of Le Gory each year; Matthieu purchases new barrels for this cuvée each vintage. It follows the same élevage as the regular Saumur Blanc but is then held back for an additional year of bottle age.

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Saumur Champigny 'La Folie'

TYPE
Still / Red
VARIETAL
Cabernet Franc
FARMING PRACTICE
Biodynamic Organic
DETAILS

Biodynamic & certified organic. 100% Cabernet Franc. La Folie comes from plots in the village of Champigny itself with vines ranging from 15-50 years in age. Clay and limestone soils. Hand-harvested. Native yeast fermentation with no additions in 50 hl concrete vats for 4 weeks. Aged for 12 months in half 38 hl foudre and half in 4-5 year old barriques. Bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal sulfur.

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Saumur Champigny

TYPE
Still / Red
VARIETAL
Cabernet Franc
FARMING PRACTICE
Biodynamic, Organic
DETAILS

Biodynamic & certified organic. 100% Cabernet Franc. From 2 hectares of vines ranging from 5 to 80 years in age. Clay/limestone soils over tuffeau stone. Hand-harvested in small bins. The cold temperature in their caves delays fermentation and gives a natural pre-fermentation maceration. Native yeast fermentation in 38 hl foudres for 4 weeks. Malolactic fermentation occurs naturally during aging in oak (20% new barrels for 12 months). Bottled unfined and unfiltered.

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Saumur Champigny Le Beaumeray

TYPE
Still / Red
VARIETAL
Cabernet Franc
FARMING PRACTICE
Biodynamic Organic
DETAILS

Biodynamic & certified organic. As part of a long-term vision to develop premier cru vineyards in Saumur, Mathieu Vallée introduced two single-vineyard wines – ‘Le Beaumeray’ for red and ‘Le Gory’ for the white. A total of .5ha from two plantings, one from the 1960s and one from ’99 (a selection massale from the famous ‘Le Bourg’ of Clos Rougeard). Native yeast fermentation in 38hl foudres for four weeks, then moved for a few months into oak barrels (20% new), then is aged in bottle for another year before release. Some of the vines for this cuvée may be somewhat young, but this site is of special provenance, and planted on some of the best terroir in La Côte. This is Cabernet Franc with a special sense of grace.

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Saumur Champigny 'L'Ile Quatre Sous'

TYPE
Still / Red
VARIETAL
Cabernet Franc
FARMING PRACTICE
Biodynamic, Organic
DETAILS

Biodynamic & certified organic. 100% Cabernet Franc. From a one hectare plot of vines ranging from 15 to 50 years in age. Sandy-clay over Turonian-era limestone. Hand-harvested in small bins in the early morning to keep temperatures low. Native yeast fermentation in concrete vats for three weeks; no pumpovers are performed to limit extraction. Aged for eight months in concrete vats. Bottled unfined and unfiltered with no additions apart from minimal SO2.

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Pineau d'Aunis 'Bay Rouge' IGP Val de Loire

TYPE
Still / Red
VARIETAL
Pineau d'Aunis
FARMING PRACTICE
Biodynamic Organic
DETAILS

Biodynamic & Certified organic. 100% Pineau d’Aunis. A limestone-clay soil, on southwestern exposition, gives in autumn a particular orange-red color to the vines’ leaves -- hence the origin of the name of the wine. The hand-harvested grapes, half of which are destemmed, are placed in concrete tanks for ten days of carbonic maceration and spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts. The wine is then aged in foudres for 12 months without racking before bottling in July 2022.

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