This Château has origins dating back to the 1700s, when current winemaker Philippe Vatan’s ancestors moved along the river from Sancerre to the town of Dampierre to the area where the beautiful Château they now live in is to be found. The family decided in 1987 to branch out from fruit farming to vinification and the bottling of their own wines. With intense focus the Va- tan’s have become one of the top Domaines in the Loire Valley and certainly one of the very finest producers of Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc. They have received no less than an unprecedented 11 “Coups de Coeur” in France’s leading wine re- view, the Guide Hachette!
The Château du Hureau vineyards (all organic) spread over about twenty plots covering around 20 hectares, over the villages of Dampierre sur Loire, Souzay-Champigny and Saumur. Philippe rigorously crop thins his vines making several passes through the vineyards ensuring only the best bunches will be hand-harvested. Upon arrival Phillippe hand sorts the fruit for ultimate quality before arrival in the cellar for vinification. All the wines are vinified with indigenous yeast. The 13th century wine caves are built into an enormous tufa-limestone shelf that borders the back of the Château. It is on top of this shelf, planted in this same tufa-limestone, where the Cabernet Franc and Chenin Blanc grows.
- Argile Blanc – 100% Chenin Blanc
- Fours A Chaux – 100% Cabernet Franc
- Tuffe – 100% Cabernet Franc