Chéreau Carré

Chéreau Carré - this name unites the Chéreau and Carré families. Today, the family owns four wine estates in the Nantes area.

Two families for the Muscadet - Chéreau Carré

The name Chéreau Carré goes back to Bernard Chéreau Senior and his wife Edmonde Carré. The two married in 1960, bringing together the Château de Chasseloir and Château de l'Oiselinière estates. Bernard had purchased Château de Chasseloir in 1953, buying the château with a few vines and livestock was a big gamble for him. His dream of his own Muscadet should turn out to be a success story. 

His son Bernard Junior soon joined the family business and began to build the reputation of the house Muscadet. His daughter Louise is meanwhile also active at Chéreau Carré. 

The estates of Chéreau Carré

The family's four estates today are as follows:

• Château de Chasseloir
• Château de l'Oiselinière
• Château de la Chesnaie
• Domaine du Bois Bruley

The region is strongly characterised by its slate soils, which give Muscadet Sèvre et Maine its character. The basis for the wine of the region is the grape variety Melon de Bourgogne, which was brought to the area around Nantes by Burgundian monks in the 19th century. It was a cross between Pinot Blanc and Gouais Blanc, planted after a hard winter that had destroyed the old vines, because of its greater resistance to cold.

In addition, Chéreau Carré also cultivates the Sauvignon Blanc, Sauvignon Gris, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grape varieties. These grape varieties are grown exclusively at Château de la Chesnaie and are used for white wines, a rosé and a red wine.

Philosophy of the Chéreaus

Although some of the harvesting at Chéreau Carré is now done by machine, most of the work on the estates is still manual. The old vines of the estates make for lower yields, but higher quality. Moreover, the wine has a better ageing ability, which the Chéreaus also discovered for the Muscadet.

In the past, this wine was only drunk young, but Bernard senior and junior started to store the bottles for several years and found out that the wine ages wonderfully. Thus, particularly good vintages are also stored longer today.