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Monmousseau’s history

The tradition began with the audacity and expertise of Alcide Monmousseau who founded in 1886, this fine wine merchant house in Montrichard (Loir et Cher), where he discovered one of the most important quarries of regional tuffeau stone. Abandoned after having being used to build the royal castles of the Loire, the quarry was brought back to life by Alcide, who transformed it into magnificent winemaking cellars. It became a network of 15 km of hygienic and solid underground galleries, the constant temperature of which – both summer and winter – is always about 12°C, with a hygrometry perfectly suited to the production and the conservation of wine.

At the beginning of this century, Justin-Marcel Monmousseau, the nephew and successor of Alcide at the head of the House of Monmousseau, discovered great similarities between the terroirs and grape varieties of the vineyards of Champagne and those of Touraine. He managed to make a Great Wine, according to the method used by Dom Pérignon, that he had had the opportunity of carefully studying. Within less than 5 years, he entered “The Fine Sparkling Wine Market” and became internationally renowned. As of 1930, the sparkling wines of Justin Marcel Monmousseau were distributed throughout Europe, including at the dinner table of Gustav IV Adolf of Sweden. They were notably sold in the United States and Japan, where they are still popular today.

After the death of Justin-Marcel in 1972, the family dynasty continued up until 1994.

At present, the House of Monmousseau counts among the main producers of fine sparkling wines, according to the “Méthode Traditionnelle”, of AOC Touraine, Vouvray, Cremant de Loire, and has also developed a range of highly expressive Still Wines from Touraine.