Buy wines from Bouvet-Ladubay
Bouvet-Ladubay, based in Saint-Hilaire-Saint-Florent near Saumur on the Loire, is one of the most famous sparkling wine producers in the world. Although it may be a large winery, crémants of impeccable quality are produced here under the management of Juliette Monmousseau.
Founded in 1851 at its current location, Bouvet-Ladubay produces both still wines from the typical Loire grape varieties Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc, as well as sparkling wines. The house has become world-famous for the latter in particular. From the simple La Petit Bulle Blanc to the vintage crémants such as Ogmius, Trésor, Saphir, Brut Zéro and Instinct, the sparkling wines are full of character, elegance and finesse and are always offered at an outstandingly good price.
Étienne Bouvet, who married Celestine Ladubay in 1851, soon acquired an estate on the current site in Saint-Hilaire with an eight-kilometre-long cellar carved out of the typical tuff of the region. The man was extremely enterprising and so not only did he produce champagne, which was legally possible until 1927 even if you were not based in Champagne, but he also became a master of marketing, developing his own brands and labels for each restaurant and retailer. When he died in 1908, he left behind a château, modern workers' housing estates for his 90 employees, a school and infirmary, a theatre, a port and even an electricity plant. At that time, his Crémants reached a circulation that was not achieved again until 2013.
Étienne died at the height of his fame and that of his house. The First World War, the end of the Belle Époque and the Great Depression at the end of the 1920s led to a massive slump in sales and ultimately to the dismemberment of the company.
A large part of the company was taken over by Justin-Marcel Monmousseau. He was a winemaker in Touraine and acquired the house primarily because he wanted to snatch it away from a direct competitor. Justin-Marcel's son Jean put the house back on a stable path from 1946 and expanded production.
The real success then came with Patrice Monmousseau. However, at his father's request, he had to start as an apprentice in the 1950s and work his way up. another low point in the history of Bouvet-Ladubay followed in 1974. Following family disputes, the house was sold to Champagne producer Taittinger, but Patrice Monmousseau was at least retained as head of the company.
However, Taittinger then also fell out and the Champagne house, including the hotel group and Crémant producer, was sold to a limited company in 2006. As this company was unable to do anything with the house, a „white knight“ was needed who could save the house as an investor. His name was Vijay Mallya and he was a tycoon in the Indian drinks industry. As Patrice had turned Bouvet-Ladubay into a top brand and increased the number of bottles tenfold since 1974, a new production facility was built in 2008.
in 2015, the Monmousseau family finally had the opportunity to buy back the entire company. It is now run by Patrice's daughter Juliette.
Images: Bouvet-Ladubay
