Our winery has a very long-standing winemaking tradition
The Domaine
Welcome to the Clément family at Domaine de Châtenoy!
We would like to welcome you to our family domaine which was built in 1884 by P-A Clément, great-great-grandfather to Anne, Marie and Pierre-Alexandre, so that we may share with you our passion for our craft and our wines.
Although this 19th-century residence, which is the current home of Pierre-Alexandre and the place where he grew up with his sisters Anne and Marie, has changed very little over the decades, the same cannot be said for our modern and spacious winery!
These ancient vaulted cellars saw the birth of the family domaine’s very first vintage and are still in use today and open to visitors.
As wine producers in Menetou-Salon since 1560, our family is still dedicated to the cultivation of the vine today.
Frome the vine to the glass
Our cellars are located in Menetou-Salon in the Cher department in the Centre Loire wine region and they certainly have a few secrets to share with you…
The motto “a good wine is not possible without good grapes” is of course true although it is much easier to say it than to execute it! In order to respect each grape, from the vineyards right through to the glass, several stages must be carefully managed and mastered.
Our white wines are made from the Sauvignon varietal and our rosés from Pinot Noir. Pressing is carried out with the fruit intact using a pneumatic press to ensure gentle extraction and the highest quality juices possible.
The vinification of our red wines, which are made from the Pinot Noir varietal, begins with cold pre-fermentation maceration before continuing in temperature-controlled stainless-steel vats which enable the development of intense fruity aromas. Temperature control is a means of carefully managing fermentation. We also carry out cap punching, a gentle traditional technique that enables us to draw out the colours, tannins and aromas from the grapes and gives rise to high-quality wines.
Our cellars were designed by Isabelle and Pierre with this continuous quest for excellence and attention to detail in mind.
The know how
Bringing out the best in our terroir and revealing the unique characteristics of the vintage in each wine lie at the heart of our family’s approach to winemaking.
Pierre qualified as an oenologist before spending several years experimenting and identifying the most effective ways to work with the grape, naturally, throughout the vinification process
This high level of care and attention is the secret to our domaine’s exceptional wines.
The process of transforming the grape into wine is carried out using natural yeasts which accentuate the personality of the vintage whilst long fermentations and ageing in contact with the lees impart elegance and finesse to the finished wines. All of our red wines and some of our whites are aged in oak barrels and foudres (tuns) ! sourced from the most reputed forests in France (Tronçais and Fontainebleau) and used on our domaine since 1985. Barrel ageing encourages malolactic fermentation which imparts a smooth, round structure to the wine.
Team spirit
Our family is supported year-round by a highly motivated and dedicated team.
Composed of all ages from 24 to 57 years old, the oldest has overseen the creation of 40 vintages thus far at the domaine and new generations contribute by bringing a fresh perspective each year.
Added to that, we have the seasonal workers who join us to help out with tying, disbudding and shoot binding as let’s not forget that viticulture is first and foremost a manual occupation !
