La Porte Saint Jean

Sylvain Dittière is a true force of nature. Since starting out in 2010, he has wasted little time in setting a new quality benchmark. With incredible dedication and drive, he makes staggeringly refined, characterful wines that are exceptional even by Saumur-Champigny standards.

The talented Sylvain Dittière and his wife Pauline (sister of Antoine Foucault, Domaine du Collier) founded Domaine La Porte Saint Jean in Montreuil-Bellay, south of Saumur, in 2010 at the tender age of 24. Not coming from a family of winemakers, he had to start everything from scratch, armed with practical experience gained from stints at such well-regarded estates as Gérard Gauby, Thierry Germain, Marc Tempé, Château Yvonne and the mythical Clos Rougeard. 

Prime Saumur terroir

Initially, Sylvain bought organically grown grapes from a trusted local winemaker until he found the financial backing to buy his first plot, five hectares of prime Saumur terroir on limestone and Jurassic-era flint, with Cabernet Franc vines aged up to 60 years. He later added more parcels, on soils ranging from clay to yellow marl to alluvial sand. His estate now consists of 8.5 hectares under vine.

Meticulous and organic

Sylvain grows three grape varieties – Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Franc – to certified-organic standard in three different lieux-dits: La Perlée, Les Cormiers and Les Pouches. He farms his vineyards meticulously and oversees every step of the processing chain during harvest. His philosophy in the cellar is simple – let it be. All he adds just before bottling is a minimal amount of sulphur, if necessary. Sylvain benefits from an incredible cellar consisting of underground vaults that were carved out of stone hundreds of years ago. The cellar’s constantly low temperatures are perfect for long, slow maturation. Precise, profound wines with incisive minerality are the result. 

This is a gem of a producer.