Guiberteau

History of Domaine Guiberteau

The estate was founded in the early 20th century by Clément Manguin, Romain’s great-grandfather, then passed to his son-in-law Robert Guiberteau, a talented winemaker and one of the founding members of the Saumur cooperative winery. In 1954, recognizing the exceptional potential of the Brézé hillside, Robert acquired several hectares there, including Clos des Carmes, which the renowned gastronome Curnonsky already ranked among Saumur’s finest wines. When Robert retired in 1976, none of his children wanted to take over, so the vineyards were leased out.

In 1996, as the leases expired, Romain Guiberteau, then a law student unsure of his chosen path, decided to take back management of the family vineyard rather than renew the leases. The following year, advised by Nady Foucault of neighboring Clos Rougeard, who became his mentor, he produced 5,000 bottles of red that sold without difficulty. This first success set him on a firmly quality-focused path: gradually reclaiming grapes previously delivered to the cooperative, beginning the conversion to organic viticulture in the early 2000s and obtaining certification in 2007. In 2024, the estate launched Chai de la Dive, a négociant project devoted to more accessible wines, with Brendan Stater-West, Camille Guiberteau and Alex Crochet.

Terroirs and Vines of Domaine Guiberteau

The vineyard covers approximately 19 hectares across the communes of Bizay, Brézé, Chacé, Montreuil-Bellay and Saint-Just-sur-Dive, including more than ten hectares on the Brézé hillside alone, a historic grand cru site for Saumur whites. Just over half the area is planted with Chenin and the rest with Cabernet Franc. The vines range from a few years to more than eighty years old, with a high proportion of old parcels planted between the 1930s and 1950s.

The soils combine clay-limestone, silty sand and deeper clay, resting almost everywhere on tuffeau, the soft chalk that gives the wines their distinctive mineral and saline character. The vineyards are certified organic, with Guyot-Poussard pruning, permanent ground cover between rows and soil cultivation limited to the area beneath the vines. All synthetic products are prohibited: only sulfur, copper, essential oils and plant decoctions are used. Yields remain low, and harvesting is entirely by hand, with sorting in the vineyard.

Winemaking at Domaine Guiberteau

The whites are whole-cluster pressed after rigorous sorting, then fermented exclusively with native yeasts. Malolactic fermentation is systematically blocked to preserve Chenin’s tension and salinity. Aging takes place on fine lees, from seven months for the entry-level cuvée to two years for the top clos wines, in stainless steel vats, large oak casks, demi-muids or barrels, with the proportion of new oak varying by parcel, before final blending and a few months’ rest in vats.

The reds are fully destemmed, then macerated in concrete or wooden vats with native yeasts for two to four weeks, depending on the cuvée, with gentle extraction. Aging ranges from ten months in vats for the fruit-forward wines to twenty-four months in barrels for the most ambitious single-parcel wines; some spend several more months, or even years, in bottle before release. Sulfur use is kept to the strict minimum necessary before bottling.

The Cuvées of Domaine Guiberteau

Saumur Blanc (Domaine cuvée): three hectares of Chenin planted between 1935 and 2012, combining old vines at the foot of the Brézé hillside with young vines from Clos de Guichaux and Clos des Carmes, on clay-limestone soils. Whole-cluster pressing, malolactic fermentation blocked, and seven to ten months of aging on the lees in stainless steel vats and large oak casks. The ideal introduction to the Guiberteau style: citrus, white flowers, saline tension and great precision.

Saumur Blanc Brézé: just over one hectare across two parcels on the Brézé hillside, planted in 1933 and 1952 at 5,500 vines per hectare, on clayey sand over soft limestone. Aged on the lees for fifteen to eighteen months in demi-muids and barrels, then for a few months in vats before bottling. A Chenin of remarkable depth, with pronounced chalky minerality, generous and voluptuous, showing yellow fruit and white flowers and an exceptionally long, savory finish.

Saumur Blanc Brézé Le Bourg: a single parcel of about one hectare just below Clos des Carmes, planted in the early 1940s on clayey sand and soft limestone, with yields capped at 45 hectoliters per hectare. Aged for eleven to twelve months in used barrels, producing a wine more immediately approachable than the clos wines, yet exceptionally refined, saline and delicately fruity.

Saumur Blanc Clos des Carmes (monopole): the jewel of the estate, a historic parcel on the Brézé hillside acquired by Robert Guiberteau in the mid-1950s and one of three clos ranked among Saumur’s finest wines. Only the best hectare is selected; the rest is declassified. Aged on the lees for eighteen to twenty-four months in new barrels and barrels previously used for one or two vintages, then blended and rested in vats and bottles before release. A Chenin of rare intensity and complexity, with exceptional aging potential.

Saumur Blanc Clos de Guichaux (monopole): 1.6 hectares of Chenin planted in 2003 in Bizay, on about 30 centimeters of sandy loam directly over soft limestone. Whole-cluster pressing, malolactic fermentation blocked, and nine to twelve months of aging in used barrels. A crystalline, focused wine with incisive minerality that benefits greatly from a few years in the cellar.

Saumur Rouge (Domaine cuvée): two hectares of Cabernet Franc from three parcels on the Brézé hillside, planted between 1955 and 1957 on silty sand and limestone. Fully destemmed, fermented with native yeasts, then aged for ten to twelve months in stainless steel or wooden vats. A fragrant Saumur with a velvety texture, notes of raspberry and sweet spice, and exceptional drinkability.

Saumur Rouge Les Chapaudaises: two hectares planted in 1948 in Bizay, in the village of Épieds, on sandy-loam soil over soft limestone. Aged for ten months in wooden vats, with no overt oak influence. The wine emphasizes aromatic finesse, floral freshness and an easy-drinking character, with silky tannins and exceptionally pure fruit.

Saumur Rouge Les Motelles: one hectare of Cabernet Franc planted in 1955 in Montreuil-Bellay, on sandy clay mixed with gravel over limestone. Aged for twelve months in barrels previously used for two or three vintages. The nose offers blackcurrant, cherry and blackberry with a hint of spice; the palate is vibrant and deep, carried by firm, refined tannins.

Saumur Rouge Les Arboises (monopole): one hectare planted in 1957 on the south-facing Brézé hillside, on stony sandy-loam soil over limestone. Fermented for two to four weeks in concrete vats with native yeasts, then aged for eighteen months in barrels, 80% of them new. The most ambitious red cuvée: dense, spicy and mineral, built for long aging.

Saumur Rouge Chacé (monopole): a tiny 0.25-hectare parcel planted in 1948 in Chacé, in the heart of the Saumur-Champigny area, facing southwest on silty sand and limestone, with yields limited to 35 hectoliters per hectare. Fermented in wooden vats, aged for eighteen to twenty-four months in barrels previously used for one or two vintages, bottled exclusively in magnums, then held in bottle for two more years before release. An exceptionally rare wine.

Les Moulins (Chai de la Dive), white, rosé and red: born of the négociant project launched in 2024 with Brendan Stater-West, Camille Guiberteau and Alex Crochet, this range is made from organic grapes grown by neighboring growers, often tended by the estate team, and from the property’s young vines. The wines are vinified and bottled at the estate, with Romain Guiberteau’s signature on the back label. More approachable and accessible, the white offers a fresh, citrusy Chenin, the rosé a saline, easy-drinking wine, and the red a lively, fruit-forward Cabernet Franc.