More about Romain Guiberteau

Romain Guiberteau is one of the Loire's most sought-after growers, who put the limestone hill of Brézé back on the map for Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc. The wines under his own name come from Chai de la Dive, his newer project for earlier-drinking Saumur.

The family estate goes back to Romain's great-grandfather, Clement Manguin, in the early 1900s, and in 1954 Robert Guiberteau, Romain's grandfather, bought vines on the Brézé hill, including the Clos des Carmes. Romain gave up law studies and took back the family vineyards in 1996. The following year, with Nady Foucault of Clos Rougeard as his mentor, he made his first 5,000 bottles. He began converting to organic farming in 2000, and the domaine was certified in 2007.

Chai de la Dive began with the 2024 vintage as a partnership between Romain, his daughter Camille, her partner Alex Crochet and fellow grower Brendan Stater-West. It buys organically farmed grapes from neighboring vineyards, some still worked by the partners' own teams, and the wines are made and bottled at Domaine Guiberteau. The name nods to Saint-Just-sur-Dive, the family's historic home. Everything ferments with native yeasts and rests in steel and concrete. That frees the domaine to focus on its single-site cuvées, while the Les Moulins Saumur Blanc, rosé and reds give you the house's chalky precision without the wait.