schiller-wine: Tasting, Tour of the Old Cellar and Vineyard Tour at Clotilde Legrand – Domaine Legrand in Varrains, Anjou, with Clotilde Legrand and her Father René-Noël Legrand

The Loire Tour 2025 by ombiasy WineTours took place from Sunday, October 5 to Thursday, October 16, 2025. The tour started in Nantes and ended in Sancerre, with a bus transfer and lunch in Paris. There were 9 of us including Annette and myself.

Following:

Tour of L’ Abbey Royale de Fontevraud in Fontevraud - Loire Valley 2025 by ombiasy WineTours

Lunch at Saumur's Fairy-tale Castle Château de Saumur - Loire Valley 2025 by ombiasy WineTours

we went to Clotilde Legrand, who has become an icon in the Saumur-Champigny appellation. We started with a tasting, followed by a visit of the old cellar. Those who did not want to go done to the old cellars, took a quick tour of the vineyard.

Clotilde Legrand and her father René-Noël Legrand were our hosts.

Weygandt Metzler is the US importer.

Loire 2025 by ombiasy WineTours led by Annette Schiller

Annette Schiller in her announcement: What comes to your mind when you hear ‘Loire Valley’? Of course images of glorious Châteaux pop up in your mind. Yes that is true and we will visit some iconic château and dig deep into France’s history. However, during this wine tour we also discover a magnificent, but often overlooked French wine region and one of the most exciting best kept secrets of excellent, high quality wines at very reasonable prices. The Loire Valley wine region is a vast area and consists of several distinct wine regions, each with its own characteristic grapes, appellations, and wine style. We take you on a journey from the Atlantic Ocean to the Auvergne mountains to explore this unique region. We learn to appreciate “Sancerre”, "Pouilly-Fumé", “Vouvray", “Chinon”, as well as many other not so familiar appellations.

Clotilde Legrand – Domaine Legrand (ombiasy WineTours)

The Legrand family can trace their wine grower history back to the 17th century. In 2014 the first women – Clotilde Legrand – took over and has since become an icon in the Saumur-Champigny appellation. The domaine farms 44 acres, mostly planted with Cabernet-Franc, and a tiny parcel with Chenin Blanc. The vineyards are divided into about twenty plots spread out over the villages of Saumur, Dampierre, Chacé, Varrains, and Souzay-Champigny. The average age of the vines is 45 years, with the oldest being planted in 1927. The soils are clay-limestone and these produce the best Saumur-Champigny wines. In Saumur, the vines grow on gentle slopes which are traditionally enclosed by walls, hence a “Clos”. These tufa (the local name) walls ensure optimal maturation of the grapes through their protection and brightness. All fruit is harvested manually, fermentation is spontaneously, followed by malolactic fermentation and ageing 2 to 4 years in French oak of which is 1/3 new. The vinification is done without adding sulfites. There is no fining and filtering before bottling.

Clotilde Legrand – Domaine Legrand (Weygandt Metzler)

The Legrand family was one of earliest producers of the Saumur-Champigny appellation, and has a history with winegrowing dating back to the 17th century. In 2014, Clotilde became the Legrand family's first female winegrower. Clotilde wishes, just as her father René-Noël had, to focus on the traditional aspect of vinification. Her main objective is to obtain high quality wines, every year, while respecting the characteristics of each vintage.

The vineyard is comprised of 17 hectares of Cabernet Franc divided up into twenty plots split between the villages of Saumur, Dampierre, Chacé, Varrains and Souzay-Champigny. The average vine-age is around 45 years. The oldest plots date back to 1927. A small plot of Chenin produces Saumur Blanc, a dry Chenin. In Saumur, vines grow on gentle slopes traditionally enclosed by walls - some old, some ancient. These freestone walls provide protection for the vines and allow for optimal brightness to aid maturation of the grapes. Vines planted in limestone and chalk soils produce the best Saumur-Champigny. For over 30 years, grass has been allowed to grow between the vine rows on all plots, for a more environmentally friendly approach.

Saumur is known for its limestone: the tufa. The first caves were dug by humans over a thousand years ago and make up a huge underground network. Over the centuries, these galleries (tunnels) were used as shelters for themselves or for livestock. At the end of the 19th century, some were even converted into mushroom factories. And over the millennia, the galleries have been used as a place for winemaking and have the advantage of providing ideal conditions for wine storage; high relative humidity and temperature being both fresh and constant (?12°C).

In the spirit of excellence the legendary 1947 vintage demonstrated, the Legrand family continues to craft both table-ready and cellar-ready wines, with traditional French oak barrel-ageing for the finest vintages.

Arriving