Chateau Yvonne Saumur
The Loire Valley holds a special place in my heart. It’s an incredibly romantic and beautiful region filled with history, stunning wines ranging from Crémant de Loire, Rosé D’Anjou, Muscat Sevres et Mains, Chinon to the famed Sancerre and Vouvray. Let’s not forget the gastronomical choices that the region has - game, duck, river fish, cheeses and the like. Lastly, the gardens, castles, the countryside oh my - Chateaux de Chenonceau, Chambord, Chaumont, Royale Ambroise etc. If you want to truly discover the region as I did, get in a car, drive around and go off of the beaten path. You will meet the most hospitable and friendly people, discover some of the best wine producers as I did that way with many stories to tell. That being said, this is where I fell in love with Cabernet Franc, which is the shining star in Chinon and Saumur-Champigny. The varietal is charming, feminine and flirtatious. It has a silky texture, lively acidity, soft tannins and aromas of with aromas of raspberry, bramble, bell pepper and pencil shavings. Fun Fact it’s the parent of both Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot to name a few. This grape was a busy bee back in the day.
Chateau Yvonne is located in Parnay, Saumur in the Loire Valley of France. The Chateau dates to the 16th century, with winemaking in the region dominated by the monks from the Abbey de Fontevraud since the Middle Ages. Fast forward to 2007 when Matthieu Vallée took over the chateau and decided to keep the name Chateau Yvonne in honor of all of the hard word that the previous owners had put It. One of the best producers in Saumur-Champigny, the estate is composed of 3 hectares of Chenin Blanc and 8 hectares of Cabernet Franc. These wines are biodynamic and certified organic in small production. All of the vineyard work here is done manually, and Matthieu makes the wines with as little manipulation as possible: ambient yeast fermentation, no additions other than SO2, slow malolactic fermentation, minimal racking, and bottling unfined and unfiltered. The soils are sandy-clay mixed with limestone and tuffeau (signature oyster-flecked limestone soil of the region) which gives completely different expressions of Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc.
Chateau Yvonne Saumur-Champigny L’Ile Quatre Sous wine is made from average aged vines of 30-50 years old from a single vineyard 100% Cabernet Franc. Hand-harvested, ambient yeast fermentation in concrete vats for 3 weeks without pump over to limit extraction, followed by an ageing of 8 months in concrete vats. The wine is unfined and unfiltered with no additions besides minimal SO2.
This wine is a beautiful example of a Loire Saumur-Champigny - deep purple color who’s aromas wrap you up in earthy, graphite, raspberry, blackberry red plum, bell pepper, chili flakes, sage and violet. The palate is dry with a lively acidity, medium body, alcohol and tannins which make it a great food pairing wine. The flavors are earthy, graphite, raspberry, blackberry red plum, bell pepper, chili flakes, mushrooms, sage, violets that just lingers oh so happily in your mouth. The wine is polished, elegant with perfect balanced. It’s savory, mouth filling Cabernet Franc that just screams freshness, pure character of the varietal.
Open the bottle and enjoy with wild mushroom bisque topped with crème fraiche, oysters with horseradish, grilled duck breast with sour cherry jus, smoked venison carpaccio with pickled onions, wild boar medallions crusted with pink peppercorns or a traditional Loire favorite of duck rillette with country bread and cornichons.
