Maison Ackerman

Cradle of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, the Centre-Loire area incarnates the purity of Sauvignon Blanc. Its flint-stone, limestone and clay slopes provide the wines with remarkable tension and mineral features. The vineyard stretches along the Loire on rolling hills overlooking the water and shape a unique landscape, where the river’s influence tempers the region’s semi continental climate, resulting in the slow and balanced ripening of the grapes. The soils of the Sancerre area combine white limestone, pebble stones and flint-stone laden clay, offering a geological print to each wine. At Chateau de Sancerre, the 55-hectare vineyard on the Loire’s left bank illustrates this geological diversity: 4 soil types nourish lively, crisp and well-structured wines, with a rich aromatic profile, evoking white fruit and mineral notes, perfectly well made and matured in-house, in view of reflecting the spirit of the place.  

At the heart of the castles of the Loire, Touraine expresses the finesse of its chalky-clay terroirs. In this location, Chenin, Sauvignon and Cabernet achieve a subtle balance between vivacity, fruitiness and crispness. This vineyard extends along the banks of the Loire and its tributaries, shaped by a moderate climate, where oceanic and continental influences come together, thereby offering the vine with ideal conditions, including perfect fruit ripening, enhanced by luminous summers and cool nights. The soils of Touraine combine clay, limestone and the region’s typical tufa stone, which allow for good drainage and harmoniously restore warmth, thereby contributing to the elegant mineral notes, which especially characterise the region’s wines. In Montrichard, Monmousseau fully illustrates the relationship between landscape and wine, that is apparent in the finesse and the aromatic expression of its still wines and fine sparkling wines. It is this confluence of the local geology, climate and expertise, which results in the unique character of the wines of Touraine, reflecting the spirit of this great Loire Valley terroir.

From Anjou to Saumur, our estates are part of a vineyard marked by the diversity of its soils and expositions. A land expressing Chenin, Cabernet Franc and Chardonnay, Anjou-Saumur offers an environment conductive to a great variety of styles, ranging from still wines through to fine sparkling wines. For over two centuries, Maison Ackerman has been tightly bound to the tufa stone and chalk terroirs, hallmarks of the crispness and mineral features of Loire Valley sparkling and still wines.On the hillsides of Montsoreau, Domaine la Perruche illustrates the character of Saumur-Champigny, with its precise and elegant wines, derived from well exposed chalk soils. Further south, Domaine des Hardières is located on the schist-laden slopes of Layon, providing the ideal conditions to bring about finesse and structure. Moreover, Chateau La Varière has vines situated in several appellation areas, reflecting the richness of the soils and landscapes of Anjou. These additional locations reflect the same ambition, that of revealing with each and every wine, the identity of the great terroirs of Anjou-Saumur.

Along the Atlantic coastline, the vineyard of Nantes draws its freshness from maritime influences. Home to the Melon de Bourgogne grape variety, it delivers crystalline and iodised Muscadets – a pure reflection of the gneiss and granite terroir. The generally light and well drained granite and gneiss soils, combined with the exposition of the slopes overlooking the Loire or its tributaries, allow the grapes to slowly ripen, and to express all of their tension and mineral notes. Moderated by sea breezes, the ocean climate ensures mild summers and winters – ideal conditions preserving this emblematic grape variety’s vivacity and elegance. At Chateau Cassemichère, the vineyard extends across carefully selected plots, where vine-growing practices respect the terroir’s natural expression. The Muscadets that are made here, reflect the purity and finesse characterising the wines of Nantes, combining saline freshness, delicate fruit and natural balance. Each wine has a story to tell about its location, soils, and the unique impact of the Atlantic on the Loire.