Fabien Duveau is a young winemaker and represents the eighth generation of his family estate, that he became responsible for in 2008, after taking it over from his father. The winery is in Chacé, about three miles southeast of Saumur, on the left bank of the Loire. Chacé is one of the most renowned areas of the region for Saumur-Champigny because of the deep layer of tuffeau and the layers of clay and sandstone over it. Duveau’s cellar and vineyards neighbor the local star, Clos Rougeard.

The vineyards are composed of 20 hectares split among approximately 40 parcels, planted with Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc that Fabien converted to organic and biodynamic viticulture (certified by Demeter in 2023) when he came back to the family estate. Duveau and his team practice regenerative agriculture. They put hives in their vineyards, planted shrubs, have sheep for eco-pasturing, plant beans, and allow plants to grow near the vines, like wild strawberries. (fabienduveau-vigneron.fr) Having so many distinct parcels allows Fabien to vinify and age them by different terroirs and configuration of the soils and each wine is labeled by parcel.

Fabien ages his wines in a stunning cellar from the 14th century, where the constant chill and humidity create the perfect environment to store wines. He uses concrete tanks for the vinification working with spontaneous fermentations while the ageing is done in neutral oak to keep the purity of the fruit and the terroir. (Bruno Lafon Selections, brunolafonselection.com)   

Duveau makes three wines from “Les Poyeux”: “Poyeux” Blanc and in red an “Haut Poyeux” and a “Bas Poyeux”. It’s a parcel quoted since 1802 as one of the most beautiful from the Saumur area. Composed of mainly shallow calcareous tuffeau stone, with a deeper soft chalk soil, it allows a moderate but fairly regular water supply, ideal for producing quality wine.    

In red, Fabien also makes wine from “Le Bourg”, “Les Menais”, and “Les Gaignés”. In white, he makes wine from a site called “La Hunaudière” and “Bois du Chêne” in Brézé. Each wine is impressive in its own right, but “Le Bourg”, “Bois du Chêne” and the three “Poyeux” wines share the spotlight for the top of the line. Duveau has a special talent and takes his stewardship of the land seriously. He has quietly been improving year by year upon the land that he inherited and when you taste the wines, his vision comes through clearly with each sip. – Michele Peters, Bowler Wine

*Not sold by Bowler in NY