Bouvet Ladubay

Bouvet Ladubay is a sparkling wine producer from Saumur in the Loire Valley. The company is now family-run again after an interlude with the major champagne house Taittinger. In addition to wine, Bouvet Ladubay is a place for art, which is impressively reflected in the cellar, which is built in the style of a sunken cathedral. 

Bouvet Ladubay Winery - A Long Cellar Under Saint-Hilaire

Étienne Bouvet was just 23 years old when he bought an incredible eight-kilometer cellar in Saint-Hilaire-Saint-Florent on the Loire in 1851 and founded the Maison Bouvet Ladubay together with his wife Celestine Ladubay. More than 16 eventful decades followed, during which Bouvet Ladubay made it to the title of "Official Supplier of the British Parliament". After several proud owners, including the champagne house Taittinger, Bouvet Ladubay has been completely owner-managed again since last year and continues its way to the top of the French sparkling wine producers.

The Cremant de Loire - an insider tip

The crucial question to ask about the rise of Bouvet Ladubay and other great crémant producers is: what's the secret? How do houses like Bouvet Ladubay manage to offer first-class bottle-fermented sparkling wine at a fraction of the price of Champagne? On the one hand, there is good management behind it, on the other hand, it is apparently still not generally known how good Crémant de Loire is. Saumur Brut, for example, was exported all over the world early on by the Dutch and was very popular with kings and great French statesmen. 

Classic sparkling wine production at Bouvet Ladubay

The basis for the cuvées of Bouvet Ladubay are the grapes of about 100 winegrowers, who are newly selected by the company every year. The delivery as well as pressing is already done under the supervision of Bouvet Ladubay 's oenologists. The following steps are:

• First fermentation for 8-10 days
• resting for 4 months
• Assemblage of the cuvées

The passion of the chef

Patrice Monmousseau, the managing director, from here on personally intervenes in the assemblage to create individual wines with the best characteristics. After aging in stainless steel, or in wood for higher quality wines, follows the second fermentation in the bottle, which is set in motion with yeast and added sugar, the sparkling wine is born. With regular shaking, the yeast deposit is separated, the wines are disgorged and the dosage is added, so the Brut de Loire does not differ in any step from the production of a champagne.