CHATEAU YVONNE

Located in Parnay, just a few steps from the Loire River, Château Yvonne lies at the heart of the Saumur vineyards and the Saumur-Champigny appellation. The estate is now run by Mathieu Vallée, the son of a winegrower from Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil, who left his career as an engineer to devote himself to viticulture.

The modern history of the estate began in 1997, when Yvonne and Jean-François Lamunière settled in a 16th-century residence and re-established the vineyard with the help of Françoise Foucault. The estate then built its reputation around dry Chenin Blanc wines. Mathieu Vallée took over Château Yvonne in 2007 and retained its name as a tribute to the work accomplished by his predecessors.

Terroirs shaped by tuffeau limestone

Château Yvonne’s vineyards are located across four villages: Parnay, Champigny, Turquant and Montsoreau. This geographical spread brings together terroirs with different characteristics, within a winegrowing landscape strongly influenced by the Loire River.

In Parnay, Turquant and Montsoreau, the limestone bedrock consists of tuffeau, the characteristic chalk of the Saumur region. The surface soils range from clay to sand. As a porous rock, tuffeau stores water before gradually releasing it to the vines.

This diversity provides the setting for the two historic grape varieties that play a central role at the estate: Chenin Blanc for the white wines and Cabernet Franc for the red wines of Saumur-Champigny. Château Yvonne also grows Pineau d’Aunis.

Organic viticulture since 1997

The vineyard has been farmed according to organic principles since 1997. Soil management plays a central role in Château Yvonne’s philosophy. The estate seeks to encourage deep rooting in its limestone soils while preserving the ecosystem that has developed over the years.

Manual work accompanies every stage of the growing cycle, from pruning to harvest. Techniques such as trunk cleaning and Guyot-Poussard pruning are used with the aim of promoting the longevity of the vines. Harvesting is carried out by hand, with Chenin Blanc grapes picked in the morning to preserve their freshness and aromas.

Low-intervention winemaking

In the cellar, Mathieu Vallée follows an approach centred on the grapes themselves. All Château Yvonne wines are made exclusively from grapes grown in the estate’s own vineyards: no grapes or wine are purchased.

Fermentations rely on yeasts naturally present on the grapes or in the cellar, without the use of oenological additives. Sulphur is used in limited quantities. After harvest, the grapes are carefully sorted by hand before vinification.

The red wines are vinified in concrete or wooden vats, while the white grapes are pressed before being transferred to barrels or sandstone amphorae. The wines then undergo long ageing periods, notably in a cellar carved into the tuffeau limestone, where temperature and humidity provide particularly stable conditions.

Château Yvonne, between Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc

Through Chenin Blanc from Saumur and Cabernet Franc from Saumur-Champigny, Château Yvonne expresses the different facets of the limestone terroirs of the Saumur region. Organic vineyard practices, manual harvesting, fermentation with indigenous yeasts and extended ageing form a coherent approach that Mathieu Vallée has pursued since taking over the estate.

Rooted in Parnay and committed to viticulture that respects the living environment, Château Yvonne reflects the richness of Loire Valley wines and the distinctive identity of Saumur’s tuffeau terroirs.