Chateau Yvonne - Saumur Blanc 2020 750ML (13.9% ABV)
Located in Parnay, Chateau Yvonne has been surrounded by vineyards since the middle ages, when the monks at the Abbaye de Fontevraud brought their influence to the region. The Chateau dates to the 16th century, but not much is known until 1813, when a local winemaker moved in and began producing wine on site. In 1997, Yvonne and Jean-François Lamunière decided to recreate the abandoned vineyard with the help of Françoise Foucault. In 2007, Matthieu Vallée took over and decided to keep the name Chateau Yvonne in hommage to the incredible work done by the previous owners.
Today the domaine is one of the best producers in Saumur, composed of 3 hectares of Chenin Blanc and 8 hectares of Cabernet Franc, spread out over 28 small plots in three villages. The vineyards have been farmed organically (Ecocert certified) since 1997 and bio-dynamically since 2012.
Yvonne’s production remains extremely low, averaging only 2000 cs annually. The dominant soils here are limestone and tuffeau stone but outcroppings of gravel and sandy clay give completely different expressions of Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc.
This bottling comes from their 3 hectares of Chenin (ranging from 5 to 80-year-old vines). A burgundy lovers Chenin with perfectly integrated oak influence and complex notes of pear, apple, elderflower, honey, smoke, and tons of minerality.
region: loire valley, france
varietal: chenin blanc
style: white
farming & cellar: all vineyard work here is done manually, and Matthieu makes the wines with as little manipulation as possible: native yeast fermentation in barrel for 4 months, no additions other than SO2, slow malolactic fermentation during 12 month maturation in barrel (less than 20% new oak), minimal racking, and bottling unfined and unfiltered.