Vineyards

The vineyard of Anjou and Saumur spans 20,000 hectares and contains 32 labels, making it the third vineyard in France. It spans the area around Layon, Aubance and the Loire. This ground, divided between shale and limestone, offers a great variety of wines: white, red, rose, dry, semi-dry, bubbly ones, soft ones...

The Anjou is known for its bubbly wines, especially those with Anjou labels, the Cremant de Loire and Saumur brut. Such production is possible thanks to the tendency of the great wine houses to invest in the caves, especially those around Saumur, since the start of the previous century. These caves, carved into the limestone as they are, promote the effervescence of the wines.

The region also produces lovely red wines, such as the Saumur-Puy-Notre-Dame, the Saumur and the Saumur-Champigny, which mature on limestone grounds. The Anjou and the Anjou-Villages themselves are cultivated on earth with shale.
As far as the lighter ones go, the rose wines of the region are lovely to enjoy cool under the arbor. They come from varieties of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Anjou.

To experience all of this diversity, we have here for you a non-exhaustive list of some vineyards you could visit around Fontevraud.

The Castle of Targé is located in Parnay, only 8 kilometers from Fontevraud on the road that leads to Saumur. Having stayed in the hands of the same family since 1655, today it is a vineyard known for its Saumur-Champigny and its dry white Saumur. Held for over thirty years by Édouard Pisani-Ferry, the vineyard currently spans 24 hectares. Their wines are frequently recognized in competitions, such as the Salon des Vins de Loire of the competition of Mâcon (more than 70 medals since 2000).

Address: Chemin de Targé, 49 730 Parnay
☎ +33 (0)2 41 38 11 50
Website: www.chateaudetarge.fr

This family vineyard that spans 47 hectares between Loire and Layon enjoys a microclimate that allows the development of Noble Rot, which is indispensable for the growth of great sweet wines. The manual harvesting with successive tries allows for the selection of the more or less concentrated grapes and thus the production of high quality wines.

Address: Le Clos des Forges, 49 190 Saint-Aubin-de-Luigné
Opening hours: from Monday to Friday (9am to 12pm and 2pm to 7pm), on Saturday (9am to 12pm and 2pm to 6pm), On Sunday morning upon request
☎ +33 (0)2 41 78 33 56
Website: www.domainedesforges.net

The vineyard of Champs Fleuris is situated on the edge of the Loire in the village of Turquant, only a few kilometers from Fontevraud. Spread in 43 hectares, it produces multiple labels: Saumur-Champigny, Saumur Blanc Chenin, Cremant de Loire Brut, Cabernet de Saumur, Coteaux-de-Saumur...

Visits and tastings, usually guided by the vineyard, are offered in a comfortable environment that reflects the vineyard's dynamic. Visits and tastings may be arranged by appointment.

Address: Domaine des Champs Fleuris, 54, rue des Martyrs, 49 730 Turquant
Opening hours: all year from Monday to Saturday (from 9am to 12pm and from 2pm to 6.30pm). Visits and tastings upon reservation.
☎ +33 (0)2 41 38 10 92

In the entrance of the town of Chinon, 20 kilometers from Fontevraud, Pierre and Bertrand Couly, father and son, have combined their style thanks to their search for unique soils and their bias towards Sans Barrique. Their vineyard spans 17 hectares, from the soil of siliceous clay of Saint Louans to the typical clay and limestone or pure limestone slopes of the Chinon label. Discover the production of Pierre and Bertrand: four vintage red Chinon wines vinified by soil, one rose Chinon and one white Chinon.

Enjoy a guided visit to the winery and a tasting of various vintage wines, paired with regional specialties. You may also opt for a prestige visit which, in addition to the two benefits mentioned above, will also allow you to discover the vineyard and the wine cultivation techniques, right in the heart of the vineyard at Saint Louans.

Address: Rond-point des Closeaux, Route de Tours 37 500 Chinon
Price: Visit & Tasting groups from 10 to 60 people (6€/pers up to 15 people, (5€/pers from 16 people). Prestige visit 27.5€/pers
Duration: Visit & Tasting from 1h to 1h30; Prestige visit from 2h30 to 3h
☎ +33 (0)2 47 93 64 19
Website: www.pb-couly.com

10 kilometers from Fontevraud, very close to Parnay and the Castle of Targé, discover the Clos des Cordeliers in Souzay-Champigny. The vineyard there has been used and has been producing wine for over three centuries, including the Saumur-Champigny, the Saumur Cabernet and the Cremant de Loire. The Ratron family has been expanding and modernizing the vineyard for the past four generations, while maintaining the vineyard's reputation.

The vineyard also offers walks in its grounds every Friday morning during the tourist period, as well as on some Sundays and holidays. You will also have the chance to experience the everyday life of the winegrower, his philosophy and his passion for his profession. During the walk, you will be filled in on the rules that must be followed to be able to use the Saumur-Champigny label, the special characteristics of the Cabernet Franc grapes, the cultivating process and pest management without chemical weeding, manual grape harvesting, as well as the vinification process for various wines produced. These walks also feature a visit to the underground cellars, followed by a tasting of the vineyard's wines.

Address: Chemin des Cordelier, 49 400 Souzay-Champigny
Opening hours: from March 25th to December 20th, from Monday to Friday (from 9.30am to 12.30pm and from 1.30pm to 5.30pm), On Saturday, Sunday and bank holidays (from 10am to 12.30pm and from 1.30pm to 5.30pm)
Price: 5€/pers, free for children
☎ +33 (0)2 41 52 95 48
Website: www.clos-des-cordeliers.com

10 kilometers from Fontevraud, at Chacé au Clos Rougeard, the Foucault family have been maintaining their wines at the highest level for the past eight generations, while remaining the precursors of organic vinification. No chemical products have ever been used here, the grapes grow naturally and harvesting is always done by hand. Their vineyard of 10 hectares produces three vintage wines of the Saumur-Champigny label, the Clos, the Poyeux and the Bourg, as well as a Saumur-Blanc, the Brézé.

Address: GAEC Foucault , 15 rue de l'Église 49 400 Chacé
☎ +33 (0)2 41 52 92 65

The grapes are under constant care in the Jarnoterie vineyard, at Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, a small community situated 15 kilometers from Fontevraud. In a terrain of 25 hectares, Carine and Didier Rezé work all year with respect to the value of time and the expression of the soil. There you will get to discover the Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, a wine label that usually features red wines, sometimes rose, originating from sand-clay soil.

Enjoy a free oenotouristic visit, arranged every Friday from April to August, during which you'll be able to visit the cellar and participate in a tasting.

Address: Vignoble de la Jarnoterie 37 140 Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil
Opening hours: On Monday upon request, from Tuesday to Friday (9am-12pm/2pm-6pm), on Saturday (9am-12pm/2pm-5.30pm). Closed on from December 24th to January 2nd included.
Wine tasting: from April to August, on Friday at 10.15am
☎ +33 (0)2 47 97 75 49
Website: www.mabileau-reze.com