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Château du Hureau

Although the Loire is crammed with historic châteaux, only a very tiny number of wine estates are graced with a true château of their own. This is a region where the vignerons have built farmhouses rather than stately homes, but naturally there are exceptions. Château du Hureau is one such estate; proprietors Philippe and Georges Vatan inhabit the house, which comes complete with 13th Century cellars cut into the tuffeau.

The château is topped by a weather vane featuring a wild boar, the name hureau referring to an old, solitary male boar. From their headquarters beneath the vane, Philippe and Georges supervise 17 ha of vineyards, scattered over 21 separate plots, spread throughout the appellation. Most are planted to Cabernet Franc, with a small amount of Chenin Blanc. The vines are largely interplanted with grass, otherwise they are tilled throughout the summer. There is a green harvest to control yields. The end result is a white cuvée which varies from dry to sweet (and may also have bubbles), and three red wines.

The Chenin Blanc is harvested at 30 hl/ha from just 2.5 ha of vines. Remarkably, the fruit is harvested in tries in order to select only the ripest berries, with the resulting wine depending very much on the characteristics of the harvest. In favourable years, when conditions permit the harvesting of grapes that have undergone passerillage, or are affected by noble rot, the Vatans will produce a sweet Coteaux du Saumur; otherwise, a dry Saumur Blanc is the result. Either way, the wine sees a period sur lie which encourages the development of body. In addition, some Chenin is passed to an external house where it is made into sparkling wine, returning to the Vatans as Saumur Brut.

The three red cuvées are led by what might be regarded as the house wine, Château du Hureau; this is a blend from 17 of the 21 plots, some of which include some very old vines, as much as 70 years. The fruit is largely picked by hand, although perhaps a quarter is machine-harvested. The Cuvée des Fevettes originates from just two of the plots owned by the Vatans, and the Cuvée Lisagathe is a similar selection, from vines subject to at least two episodes of crop thinning during the summer, keeping yields to a minimum. All the wines see an earth filtration before bottling. (6/6/06)

Contact details:
Address: 49400 Dampierre sur Loire
Telephone: +33 (0) 2 41 67 60 40
Fax: +33 (0) 2 41 50 43 35
Internet: www.domaine-hureau.fr

Château du Hureau - Tasting Notes

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Château du Hureau Saumur Blanc 2009: A pale straw hue in the glass. The nose is fairly reticent at first, and doesn't immediately seem to have the bite and grip that I recall finding in the 2008. But it just needs a little time to open up, slowly unfurling to reveal white stone fruit, with a gently sweet, ripe-apple feel to it. There's a little hint of green and leafy sage to it as well, becoming slowly more expressive with time in the glass. Rather detached at first, then in the midpalate showing good grip but never in a challenging style, it is more gently composed than that, fleshy and ever-so-slightly flattering to the palate. It is on the finish that it shows more vigour at present, a spicy and almost salty presence coming through here, and a finish that goes on and on. This is really good, but I feel it will be even better given another year or two. And maybe longer than that. From a tasting of Philippe Vatan's 2009 vintage. 17/20 (September 2011)

Château du Hureau Saumur-Champigny Les Amandiers 2009: A very pure and sweet fruit character on the nose here, with an explosive cherry and raspberry style, with a dark and deep character to it. Fresh, lifted, with a lightly vanillin note too. Smoky. A very polished style on the palate, broad, quite full, rich in fruit as the nose suggested, but still with great structure supporting it and keeping it fresh. Rather a full, slightly chewy edge to it, which is very flattering. Bags of potential here. From a Loire 2009 tasting. 16-17/20 (January 2011)

Château du Hureau Saumur-Champigny Tuffe 2009: A very deep and expressive nose here, restrained and reserved in terms of character; I sense plenty of fruit, but it doesn't explode from the glass. What is there is fine, very marked by notes of plum and damson, with a light fruit-compote richness. Supple on entry, with beautifully fresh acids coming in, very pure, hedonistic almost, with plenty of fine and elegantly polished character. In the finish there is a sudden explosion of grippy tannins, previously hidden behind the wall-to-wall fruit. Lovely composition here, one for the long haul clearly. And it is very long, too. From a Loire 2009 tasting. 17-18/20 (January 2011)

Château du Hureau Saumur-Champigny Fours à Chaux 2009: From vines between 20 and 50 years of age, planted on a terroir of sandy clay over tuffeau. This has been bottled as a separate cuvée by Philippe Vatan since 2006. This takes a good hour or so to open up even at this stage, and it develops a real richness in terms of its presence on the palate as it does so. Aromatically this is intensely perfumed, rich and smoky, full of the charcoal of barrel mixed with ripe plum and roasted herbs. Texturally, given a little time, this has a flattering and broad style on the palate, with grippy structure and a full, impressive, creamy fruit-skin character. Structured and yet seductive with its fleshy, praline-tinged weight, this is an impressive wine. This will be approachable before Les Fevettes and Lisagathe. From a tasting of Philippe Vatan's 2009 vintage. 17-18/20 (September 2011)

Château du Hureau Saumur-Champigny Les Fevettes 2009: From old vines, planted in 1943, and vinified as a separate cuvée since 1989. A rich and yet youthful colour in the glass. Wonderfully perfumed, with notes of cherry skin and dark plum, but with more aromatic notes too, of wild strawberry, with darker smoke and charcoal elements perhaps related to wood rather than fruit. Underpinning it all a firm, fresh, violet-tinged character and hints of hot stones. Good substance on the palate, with bright texture, with a firm seam of acid and ripe tannin in the background. The palate has that beautifully creamed, ripe-plum character that Saumur-Champigny can show, pure and lifted, and yet backed up by a fine tannic grip which really dominates the finish. This has fine potential. Delicious. From a tasting of Philippe Vatan's 2009 vintage. 17.5-18.5/20 (September 2011)

Château du Hureau Saumur-Champigny Lisagathe 2009: An intense hue here, a vibrant youthful pink-crimson tinge. The nose is very primary and fruit-laden, but these fruits are exotic and expressive, with wild plum, cherry skin and forest fruits, the fruit character all dark and yet perfumed and vivacious. Also there are hints of blackcurrants and kirsch liqueur too. The palate follows the style of the nose, being primary and yet full of potential. There is a very smoothly polished finesse to the substance of the wine, with a bright structure despite the darker fruit elements, which are all framed with firm acidity and ripe yet gentle tannins. These melt into the substance of the wine quite nicely, and in the finish they leave a long, ripe, structured feel. This doesn't have the bright purity of the other wines, seeming more reticent and substantial; it is a wine destined for the cellar, and has really good potential. From a tasting of Philippe Vatan's 2009 vintage. 17.5-18.5/20 (September 2011)

Château du Hureau Saumur Rosanna 2008: The second vintage of Rosanna from Philippe Vatan, mostly Cabernet Franc with a little Chenin Blanc. This wine has an amazing pink vibrancy, showing great depth and yet a pretty hue rather than anything too electric. The nose is full of exuberant red fruits, summer fruit compote with raspberry, strawberry and redcurrant leading the way, all with a leafy edge and a stony-sherbetty freshness behind the superficial fruit layers. There is also, alongside this fruit richness, a Maillard-like character which seems immediately flattering. There is a fine flesh on entry, with a fresh and vibrant mousse, dry fruit, leafy but vibrant, with a great, vivacious, palate-pleasing character. A short finish, but on the whole this is a delicious wine. From a tasting of Loire Valley Fizz. 16/20 (August 2011)

Château du Hureau Saumur Blanc 2008: A minerally nose here, an open style, with a lovely polish to the palate. Good structure too, nice grip, fresh, with slightly plump citrus fruits. Rather softer acidity at the core, but a good substance to it. This is certainly ripe, with a touch more grip and presence in the midpalate than at the start. The fruit has a slightly dried character which I like. Good wine. 16/20 (February 2010)

Château du Hureau Saumur-Champigny Tuffe 2008: The domaine cuvée, due to be bottled early 2010. The vines average about 20 years, ranging from 8 to 42 years old. From 14 separate parcels, with a clay-limestone terroir. Fresh but with a hint of plumpness to it, with stony red fruits, very typical of the appellation. A polished style, moving into cherry stone fruit, with a good flourish of tannins at the end. Really appealing. 16.5/20 (February 2010)

Château du Hureau Saumur-Champigny Fours à Chaux 2008: This parcel of vines has soils of clay, limestone and schist. A great colour in the glass, although the nose is rather closed. There is fruit here though, although it has a rather crisp and crunchy style. Beautifully fresh on the palate, with a tingling acid core. Is this the acid zip of the schist? Nice tannins at the edges. Good, but difficult to judge definitively with that rather shut-down nose. 16.5-17.5/20 (February 2010)

Château du Hureau Saumur-Champigny Lisagathe 2008: From argilo-calcaire soils right behind the Hureau property, with vines ranging from 25 to 48 years old. Very bright fruit on the nose, cherries and smoke, cranberry too. Good depth and character for sure. So supple on the palate, just gliding around the mouth, beautifully polished. Good midpalate tannins, with a ripe style backed up by a vigorous acid backbone. Smoky fruit, the barest hint of confit to it, but nevertheless a very appealing style. It finished very long. A vin de garde I think! 17.5/20 (February 2010)

Château du Hureau Saumur-Champigny Tuffe 2007: Burnt, under-ripe, stretched out fruit here. Some weight on the palate, although the style is rather green, with apple-skin acidity. It has some flesh to it, but it is the burnt-fat flavour that seems to dominate. From a Charles Sydney tasting. 13-14/20 (February 2009)

Château du Hureau Saumur-Champigny Les Fevettes 2007: Cleanly styled on the nose, with raspberry fruit. There is a little tomato leaf as well, but in its favour it has freshness and brightness. The palate is quite textured, perhaps a touch diffuse, but with some nice, chalky-smoky red fruits alongside more of the tomato. But there are enough good points here to make this worthwhile. From a Charles Sydney tasting. 15-16+/20 (February 2009)

Château du Hureau Saumur-Champigny 2005: This is the entry-level wine from the Vatan family in this most excellent of vintages, and it has a good, rich and dark colour which betrays the warmth of the year. The nose carries plenty of fresh interest, starting off with a melange of raspberry and blackberry whish is later augmented with elements of smoke, tomato, charcoal and blackcurrant. The palate is full and yet fresh, with notes of roasted, sun-baked herbs alongside savoury sun-dried tomato and black raspberry. This certainly has a good and distinctive style, and interesting fruit complexity. The finish is sappy, toothsome and shows some nice, tannic extract. Overall this is a good but very fresh and lively, rather punchy style. From a tasting of Saumur wines. 17/20 (January 2010)

Château du Hureau Saumur-Champigny 2003: This has a very good, dark, rather dense colour in the glass. Lovely fruit on the nose, initially a little high-toned and acetic but this blows off, settling down to a macerated raspberry and black cherry character. Very bright style on the palate, with crisply fresh acidity that just carries the wine across the mouth with a wave of zippy, mineral, rocky attitude. Just a little extract gives a sense of texture and body to balance this out. Rather a short finish, but overall a very attractive style that brings back memories of Saumur in abundance. Very good. 17/20 (June 2006)