Château Yon-Figeac

Alain Château After creating an industrial group, specialized in printing professions, paper industry and packaging, with up to 800 employees, Alain Château decided to close this chapter and get into a new challenge with an activity closer to its passions. It is with enthusiasm and determination, and a long successful experience as a company manager, that he starts this new adventure in wine-making. That is how he starts in this new area, in 2004 and 2005, three properties in Anjou, constituting a superb ensemble of 38 hectares situated on the best terroirs on this very ancient wine region and essentially dedicated to the production of great white wines. The Château Bellerive is, with its 12 hectares, the jewel of the Quart de Chaume designation. For centuries, the most mythic of Anjou sweet wines are produced on this renowned terroir. The Château de la Guimonière, a few hundred meters north from Bellerive, produces the beautiful appellation Coteaux du Layon Chaume, dry white Anjou and red Anjou. The Château de Varennes, in the Savennières appellation, produces “the” great dry white wine of Anjou. Still in 2015, Alain Château completes this ensemble with the purchase of the prestigious Château Yon-Figeac, Grand Cru Classé of Saint-Emilion, 24 hectares of vineyard on clay and sand soils producing three wines, the Château Yon Figeac (Saint Emilion Grand Cru Classé), the Roches Yon Figeac (Saint Emilion Grand Cru) and Yon Saint Martin (Saint Emilion). This ensemble is not the final outcome but the beggining of a new adventure. The profound transformation of the properties was made possible thanks to a strong will and hard work. The advice of Denis Dubourdieu, professor at the university of Bordeaux and renowned oenologist, and the constitution of solid technical teams around the two operation managers (David Grellier for the Anjour and Aurélien Perdriau for Saint-Emilion) allowed for very heavy work to start: pulling out and replanting numerous hectares, working on the soil and the vineyard, using environment friendly methods, investing in wine warehouses, renovating the reception and living spaces… In this job where time is an essential variable, results are now witnessed. The wines produced made progress in quality and are unanimously recognized; diverse rewards (medals, mentions in guides, press articles) confirm it. In Anjou, the Grand Cru and Premier Cru mentions were granted to the Quarts de Chaume and Coteaux du Layon appellations, underlining the excellence of their productions and their reference status in sweet wines. Château Yon-Figeac had his status of Grand Cru Classé renewed during the new Saint Emilion ranking in 2012. These rewards honour years of work and passion and promise a brilliant and dynamic future. The adventure continues!