2023 · Tuffe

Château du Hureau is a historic family estate in Dampierre-sur-Loire, in the Saumur region, run by fifth-generation vigneron Philippe Vatan and his daughter Agathe. The family has bottled its own wines since 1987, continuing a long tradition, and farms its vineyards organically, with soil work and manual harvesting in crates. Rooted in tuffeau limestone terroirs, the domaine produces Saumur-Champigny from Cabernet Franc alongside Saumur Blanc and Coteaux de Saumur from Chenin. Its wines are made in troglodyte cellars carved into the limestone, where the cool, humid conditions support patient aging. Philippe Vatan, an agronomist, seeks freshness, pure fruit and volume in his reds, while the whites express the acidity and aging potential of Chenin. The estate’s parcel-based approach and low-intervention practices include occasional fermentations without added sulfur.}