Château Yvonne

Château Yvonne is located in the heart of the village of Parnay, a stone’s throw from the Loire. Surrounded by exceptional terroir and talented winemakers, wine has been the focus here – in the Saumur-Champigny appellation – since the Middle Ages. Château Yvonne is certainly not the only domain, but it distinguishes itself from its neighbours by its great class. When we listened during our search in the Loire, one name was chanted and a brilliant moment in our existence as a wine importer followed. We proudly present this – in the Netherlands – undiscovered gem.

Yvonne is the founder
The domain dates back to the 16th century, but it was not until 1813 that the first winemaker of a whole series settled there. In 1997, the passionate Yvonne and Jean-François Lamunière took charge and restored the vineyards together with Françoise Foucault. From that moment on, the château was called ‘Yvonne’. Ten years later, Mathieu Vallée took over the estate. He kept the name because of the fantastic work that this enthusiastic couple had done.

Engineer follows calling
Mathieu Vallée, son of winegrowers and raised in St Nicolas de Bourgueil on the right bank of the Loire, went to work as an engineer after his training. However, he decided – only at the age of 30 – to follow his calling and dedicate his life to winegrowing. He thoroughly implemented his vision and gave his signature to the wines. Today, the estate is one of the best in Saumur, with 3 hectares of Chenin Blanc and 8 hectares of Cabernet Franc, spread over 28 small plots in three villages with a very low production; an average of only 12,000 bottles per year.

Convinced organic approach
Château Yvonne has been working organically since 1997. In recent years, an ecosystem has developed that protects the grapes and the wine, and of course the diversity of fauna and flora plays an important role in this. Roots dig into the depths of the limestone soils with tuffeau stone, gravel and sandy clay. This creates tension and gives personality to the wines. Since 2012, Mathieu has been applying some aspects of biodynamics.

Harvesting and cellar
Mathieu supervises and controls the entire harvest in order to be able to sort properly. Harvesting is always manual and in the morning to preserve the freshness and aromas. He makes the wines with as little intervention as possible: indigenous yeasts, vinification without temperature control, at the back of the cool tuffeau cellar, slow malolactic fermentation, all wines are bottled unfiltered. In his cellar, everything is motionless: the temperature does not vary, no light enters. Evolution without influence, that is what it is all about in the cellar of Château Yvonne. And Mathieu has no secrets. The wines are as natural and balanced as their maker, one of the very best producers in the region who makes brilliantly tasty wines.