Domaine de la Butte: Paul Salmon & Francis Poirel
The Griffon family maintained a presence here until the late 1990s, at which point the domaine came into the hands of Paul Salmon, who hailed from downriver, in Anjou. A wealthy businessman, in 1972 Paul had founded a children’s clothing business with his wife in Cholet, a town which sits on the road down towards the Muscadet vineyards (and which is home to one of the valley’s best boulangeries – just my personal opinion).
By the late 1990s this business had grown into a global clothing and retail brand, Catamini, and Paul was able to indulge his other passions, which seem to have included wine. Thus in 1997 he became the proprietor of 3 hectares in the Quarts de Chaume appellation, an estate he shared partly with Francis Poirel of Château de Suronde, who took on a section of the vineyard on a métayage agreement, and partly with Jo Pithon, today best known as the driving force behind Pithon-Paillé.
Shortly afterwards, in 1998, Paul Salmon also acquired the 15-hectare Domaine de la Butte. It was clear that Paul brought the financial clout, while his viticultural colleagues brought the know-how, because once again Paul entrusted the management of these vineyards to Francis Poirel. His aim, he said, was to produce a truly Ligérian grand vin.
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