Château de Villeneuve, Saumur – the new cellar and winery

 Front of the new Château de Villeneuve winery 

Last Thursday we dropped in on Florence and Jean-Pierre Chevallier at Château de Villeneuve in Souzay-Champigny. Jean-Pierre had time to show us quickly round their new winery, which uses the amazing cellars/caves that run under the château. The caves are extensive and remarkably dry. 

In 1969 they were sold to the Pays Nantais négociant Santejeau, which is now part of Castel Frères. This was the same year that the Chevallier family bought the estate. Later they were used by the Saumur sparkling wine house, Veuve Amiot. Then 20 years ago Jean-Pierre bought them back and has now renovated them. Previously his wine-making facilities were above Château de Hureau a little under two kilometres further west towards Saumur. 

Jean-Pierre is currently renting his old winemaking facility at Hureau to Patrice Rétif, who used to be one of the partners in Les Champs Fleuris. Patrice with his wife Catherine now has his own domaine – Domaine des Damoiselles.

The entrance to the winery is on the 

main road from Chinon to Saumur.  

Looking down on the winery 

with the caves under the château

Fermentation tanks

(above and below)

 CRM and Jean-Pierre inspect some foudres

 New barrels 

 A couple of eggs

 

The extensive cellars

(above and below)

Root growing down through fissures in the rock

Me and my shadow

Cave privée

Sorting the just picked 2017 Cabernet Franc 

for Saumur-Champigny 

(above and below)

Off to Tuscany for Selezione dei Vini di Toscana

An old bridge in the centre of Florence

Flying off on QueasyJet today to Pisa and then on by bus to Florence for the start of a FIJEV (International Federation of Wine and Spirits Journalists and Writers) press trip to Tuscany for the Selezione dei Vini di Toscana.

Part of the official explanation:

'The “Selezione dei Vini di Toscana” returns, the winemakers’ contest organized every two years by Toscana Promozione, in collaboration with Enoteca Italiana of Siena, the Associazione Enologi Enotecnici Italiani[1], the Protection Consortiums, the Chambers of Commerce and the ICE[2].

The Selection’s main objectives are to enhance the best regional wine productions, in order to use them in the course of promotional actions to be carried out both in Italy and abroad, and to stir Tuscan producers to achieve an ever higher quality. And the Tuscan wine world is always keen on taking up the gauntlet of quality thrown down by the Selection, as witnessed by the incredible rise in the number of submitted wines: from 317 in 1989 to over one thousand and five hundred in 2008.'

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[1] Italian Association of Winemakers and Wine Experts

[2] Institute for Foreign trade

Reports on the trip to follow.

Thorman Hunt: some photos of Loire producers present

Christophe Drouard of Domaine des Hauts Pemions, Monnières, Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine

Christophe Surget, Couly-Dutheil's export manager

Florence Chevallier, Château de Villeneuve

Alain Cailbourdin, Pouilly-Fumé