Château de Villeneuve, 2026 Update
The Saumur and Saumur-Champigny appellations are home to a number of the Loire Valley’s most cultish labels. Clos Rougeard leads the way in the cult domaine league table, but others such as Domaine des Roches Neuves, Antoine Sanzay, Château Yvonne and Domaine Guiberteau all have their legions of dedicated acolytes. Alongside these famous names there are some which seem to fly under the radar, even though their contribution to the appellation, and the quality of the wines, is easily the equal of these other domaines.
Jean-Pierre Chevallier, of Château de Villeneuve, is one of their number.
This is a property the wines of which I first encountered when I was visiting and tasting in the region back in 1993, by which time Jean-Pierre had already been at the helm for ten years. Even in difficult vintages such as 1991 and 1992, the first I encountered (if memory serves me correctly – my note-keeping wasn’t quite at the level it is today), it was clear that here was a winemaker worth knowing. Subsequent tastes during the ensuing three decades only served to reinforce this opinion, with super whites in the shape of the domaine’s Saumur Blanc and cuvée parcellaire Les Cormiers, as well as a range of worthy reds, most notably the domaine’s excellent Le Grand Clos, a red of fragrant perfume and ageworthy structure.
Level-headed and diligent in his approach in the vineyard, Jean-Pierre converted his vines to organic viticulture, certified by Bureau Véritas, in 2009, without fanfare. He began restoring and opening up the domaine’s subterranean cellars during the 1990s, ultimately building entirely new cellars in 2016. The result of this worked was poured into the domaine’s two top cuvées mentioned above. The red Le Grand Clos in particular is a wine worth knowing. The equal of any other famous Saumur-Champigny you may care to name, it has a style both correct and ageworthy, rather than one built from dogma.
