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History of the Château de la Viaudière

The Château de la Viaudière overlooks the Layon hills between Champlain-sur-Layon and Valanjou since the 16th century.

This beautiful bourgeois dwelling has been a family property since it was built. The vineyard started growing in the 1930s. The Gelineau family are winegrowers from generation to generation. The Château’s specialties are the production of sweet and dessert wines from Coteaux du Layon, red, white and rosé Anjou wines and Crémants de Loire (sparkling Loire Wines).

Nowadays, the destiny of Château de La Viaudière is taken in charge by Pierre-Antoine Giovannoni. Since 2000, he follows the steps of his father-in-law Olivier Gelineau, after studying viticulture and oenology. He works vineyard combining respect of the tradition of the wines of the Loire Valley and modernity in the methods of winemaking, reaching for ever more quality and emotions. Pierre-Antoine takes the best out of the most from typical grape varieties of our vineyard such as Chenin or Cabernet Sauvignon to the most confidential ones like Grolleau.

Passionate about his terroir and Loire wines, Pierre-Antoine enjoys welcoming visitors and share his profession and knowledge of independent winegrower. His wife Agnes (daughter of Olivier Gelineau) joined him in 2012.

Our Loire vineyard, at the heart of “Coteaux du Layon”

Our city Champ-sur-Layon is bordered at the north by the Layon, a small tributary of the Loire The Layon was transformed into a canal in the 16th century to facilitate the transport of sweet regional wines to Holland.

The town and 33 hectares of our vineyard are part of the designation “Coteaux du Layon“, famous since ages for its sweet white wines production. The Coteaux du Layon designation (AOC) covers 1400 ha of vineyards on a total of twenty seven towns all located at the south of Angers. Château de la Viaudière produces two Coteaux du Layon AOC wines. Both exceptionals with delicate aromas of honey and candied fruits.

THE LAYON : A GREAT  TERROIR AND EXCEPTIONAL SURROUNDINGS FOR THE  VINE

The Layon straddles two great geological entities of the Anjou region : the Armorican basin on the west and the Parisian basin on the east. This geological rift shaped stiffed hills landscapes facing south allowing very good conditions for vine farming. The vineyard also benefits from a nutritive soil composed of schist, clay and silica. In the region, we call it the ‘Black Layon’.

However, the terroir would mean nothing without weather conditions. The weather in Anjou is oceanic and temperate. Famous writers Joachim du Bellay and Julien Gracq called it ‘the mildness of Angers’. The geological rift, the Loire and natural barriers formed by the north mountains of the Mauges ; they all contribute to the creation of a very specific microclimate where rainfalls are weak and sunshine stronger than the regional average. In october and november, this very same sunshine paired with wet mists allow the growth of noble rot on grapes or « botrytis cinerea ». This well known rot develops on the grapes in a parasitic way. This disease concentrates the sugar into the grapes and distills specific aromas to the wines.

Le vignoble
Le vignoble

Chenin, Sauvignon and many other grape varieties on our vineyard

Producing wine is a subtle alchemy between the terroir and the winemakers’ skills. The grape variety is not only the physical expression of vine plants and grapes. It is way more than this. It is the core ingredient of the aforesaid alchemy exalted by the winemakers’ talent. Wines with soul stem from a great terroir, a great grape variety and a great winemaker.

In Anjou, many grape varieties enter the composition of designated wines : Cabernet, Chardonnay, Sauvignon, Chenin, Grolleau and Gamay.

The Coteaux du Layon wines, famous sweet white wines of our region, are produced exclusively from Chenin. This grape variety is native to our region. Here, we also call it ‘Pineau de la Loire’.

The red grape varieties Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon will give aromatic and full-bodied wines. We vinify two wines with these grape varieties : our red Anjou and red Anjou-Villages.

For the Rosés, we blend different grape varieties. It results fruity and refreshing wines you will love to drink before having dinner with friends on mild summer nights. The famous Cabernet d’Anjou, considered by many as one of the best Rosé of France, is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc.

Our white and Rosé sparkling wines are made out of red and white grape varieties : Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Grolleau and Chenin. These colored sparkling wines are the perfect match for festive moments with friends or family.

Our Loire wines

Château de la Viaudière also produces two beautiful red wines :

The ‘Anjou Rouge Tuilé’, exclusively produced from Cabernet Sauvignon, takes on the lead role of our wine range. Harvested when the grapes are almost over ripe, the wine is very fragrant and its tannins are soft and silky. Blackcurrant, clove and violet notes. He was awarded a silver Medal at the Concours Général Agricole in 2015.

Our white Anjou wine ‘Pierre Blanche (White Stone)’ is made exclusively from Chenin, noble and emblematic grape variety of our beautiful region. It was awarded a Silver Medal at the Concours National des Vignerons Indépendants in 2017.

Rosé fans will discover a dry and fruity Rosé perfect for summer and sunny days. Our second Rosé is a tender Cabernet d’Anjou, with notes of grenadine and fresh mint, ideal for spicy dishes.

For the lovers of fine bubbles, we also offer Crémants de Loire (sparkling Loire wines) Brut and Rosé. Our sparkling wines are worthy to be present at your table during your family events such as baptisms, weddings, communions, birthdays, etc… Our 2015 vintage Crémant de Loire, 100% Chardonnay, has just won a silver medal at the Concours Général Agricole in 2017.

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