Le Puy Notre Dame
High Point of the Samurois

Le Puy Notre Dame is the largest wine producing commune in the Saumurois. The wine making tradition can be traced back to the 6th.C. and commercial winemaking received a boost with the growing importance and the renaming of the church in the 12th.C.  However the absence of good roads meant that trading opportunities remained limited.  Trade, taxes and duties in the 15th C depended on the religious community and the development of the River Thouet as a  trading highway.  In the 17th.C. the "Ponot" vineyard was 600 hectares and until the 19th.C. almost all wines were white from the Chenin grape.  In the 1950's the insatiable demand for Rosés led to much of the old vineyard being removed and replaced with Cabernet Franc which was already grown in the nearby communes of Chinon and Bourgueil.  With the decline in the market for rosé, (although ironically the market has recovered dramatically in the last few years), pioneering winemakers realised that they could make excellent reds from the same grape and generations of dedicated winemakers, all committed to quality wine led to the granting of the Saumur appellation, giving the vineyard a new impetus.  Since the 14th. June 2006 the authorities have further recognised the quality of the wine by granting a new appellation, Saumur-Puy Notre Dame.  Today there are over 70 winemakers in the three communes of Le Puy, Brossay and Le Vaudelnay exploiting 1500 hectares of vineyard.
The little fellow at the top of the page, drinking from the barrel, is a copy of a 14th.C. carving in the church and is the emblem of the wine makers of Le Puy Notre Dame.