schiller-wine: Tour and Tasting at Maison Bouvet-Ladubay, a Leading Crémant de Loire Producer in Saumur

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

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 - Loire Valley 2025 by ombiasy WineTours

we visited Maison Bouvet-Ladubay, one of France’s leading Crémant de Loire producers.

Last time, we were received by the owner, Juliette Monmousseau and then enjoyed a tour and a tasting. This time, we not see Juliette.

Annette had established contact with Juliette at a winemaker dinner at the Michelin-starred Imperfecto by Enrique Limardo in Washington DC in 2023.

See: Michelin Star Food and Crémant de Loire Wines: Winemaker Dinner with Owner Juliette Monmousseau of Bouvet-Ladubay, a Leading Crémant de Loire Producer, and Sommelier Raquel Ortega Torres at Imperfecto by Enrique Limardo, Washington DC, USA

Kobrand Wine and Spirits is the US importer of Bouvet-Ladubay.

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.

Maison Bouvet-Ladubay in Saumur (ombiasy WineTours)

Maison Bouvet-Ladubay is one of France’s greatest producers of méthode traditionnelle sparkling wine. It is also one of the oldest sparkling wine producers in the Loire valley with a history of more than 170 years.

In 1851 Etienne Bouvet and his wife, Celestine Ladubay purchased 8 km of underground tunnels in Saumur with the intention of turning them into cellars. By the 1870s, Etienne was exporting his wines to England, became an official supplier to the House of Lords, and had built a majestic château, a theater, and his own power plant to serve the estate.

At the turn of the 19 th / 20 th century Bouvet Ladubay was one of the largest sparkling wine producers in the world with an annual production of 7 mio. bottles.

The couple did not have any direct heirs and after their death the Monmousseau family acquired the estate. Today it is Juliette Monmousseau who runs the business.

French wine law dictates that “Crémant” must be produced in the traditional method and that the bottles need to age a minimum of 9 months on the lees before disgorgement. Very often the Crémant spend many more months on the lees to enhance quality.

Lay and Wheeler: Bouvet-Ladubay

Bouvet Ladubay is one of the oldest sparkling wine producers in the Loire valley, boasting over 170 years of history. Their Saumur base was established by Etienne Bouvet and his wife, Celestine Ladubay in 1851 when they purchased 8 km of underground tunnels with the intention of turning them into cellars. By the 1870s, Etienne was exporting his wines to England, became an official supplier to the House of Lords, and had built both a fine château and his own power plant to serve the domaine. cc

Maison Bouvet-Ladubay in Saumur (Kobrandt)

In the heart of the Loire Valley, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Bouvet Ladubay’s cellars lie in a tuffeau cave, a white limestone characteristic of the region, which is visited by some 40,000 tourists every year.

One of the remarkable characteristics of the Saumur region is its tuffeau caves, carved into the chalk hillsides to quarry this local limestone. Tuffeau was used to build the the renowned castles, abbeys, monuments, and cities of the Loire Valley. Wines have been aged in these caves since the end of the 19th century when the extraction of tuffeau drew to an end.

Bouvet Ladubay’s own cellars lie in such a cave, excavated 1,000 years ago by the Saint Florent monks, who quarried the chalk stone to build their abbey, La Belle d’Anjou, consecrated in 1040 and at its greatest influence in the 13th century. It was said that the monks of the abbey buried an immense treasure in the caves during the French Revolution. In 2002, Patrice Monmousseau commissioned a sculptor, Philippe Cormand, to create the piece of art the “Underground Cathedral”. He rendered 35 architectural fragments from castles, churches and cathedrals sculpted by stonemasons over the centuries, adding to the natural beauty of the 5-mile-long cellars. Light and sound now complement this tribute to 10 centuries of builders in the Loire Valley.

Michelin Star Food and Crémant de Loire Wines: Winemaker Dinner with Owner Juliette Monmousseau of Bouvet-Ladubay, a Leading Crémant de Loire Producer, and Sommelier Raquel Ortega Torres at Imperfecto by Enrique Limardo, Washington DC, USA

I was the only man at the "Women Wines on Wednesday"- Dinner at Restaurant Imperfecto by Enrique Limardo in Washington DC with Owner Juliette Monmousseau of Bouvet-Ladubay, a leading Crémant de Loire producer. Imperfecto by Enrique Limardo Sommelier Raquel Ortega Torres was our host. She was supported by Addie Lewis Mattingly of Kobrand Wine and Spirits, the importer of Bouvet-Ladubay.

We were 15 women and 1 man. The dinner came to US$ 665 including tax and tip for Annette and me.