North of the Loire, the land rises toward the Puy-Notre-Dame hill, crowned by its 13th-century Collegiate Church — a legacy of Eleanor of Aquitaine, a woman of vision and strength. On these chalky slopes of soft tuffeau, the vines of Domaine de la Paleine have found their home. The story of the estate is inseparable from this landscape. Vines have shaped Puy-Notre-Dame since the Middle Ages, a heritage honored in 2008 with the creation of the Saumur–Puy-Notre-Dame appellation. Domaine de la Paleine’s roots reach back to at least the eighteenth century, when it was a mixed farm marked by two windmills — one of which still leaves its stone base. Beneath the estate runs a kilometer of ancient tuffeau caves, once quarries, now cellars where bottles and barrels quietly mature. An old wooden press recalls the hands and rhythm of earlier generations.
In the early 1990s, the Domaine turned fully to fine wines, with its first recognized vintage in 1991. Guided by respect for the land, it became organic in 2013 and biodynamic in 2017 (Demeter-certified). Natural hedges, beehives, and organic cereals preserve a living balance between vines and nature. A new chapter began in 2023 when Jean-Louis Bernet left a career in industry to fulfill his dream of becoming a winemaker. After studying viticulture and oenology in the Rhône Valley and working in Burgundy, he settled in the Saumurois — returning to a region he knew from childhood and to family roots that trace back to a great-grandfather who once tended vines near Saint-Pourçain-sur-Sioule.
At his side, Damien, the cellar master, leads a small, skilled team that tends thirty-three hectares of Chenin and Cabernet Franc. The work follows the rhythm of the seasons — winter pruning, spring growth, and a hand harvest that brings together twenty-five pickers each autumn. Behind the scenes, Terezia, Marie-Claude, and Sandra oversee trade, administration, and shipments, joined by a team whose good humor and dedication keep the estate alive.
Domaine de la Paleine lies where two geological worlds meet. To the south, the tuffeau hills of Puy-Notre-Dame and La Cerisaie cradle Chenin vines that face the morning sun. To the north, the ancient Layon fault reveals slopes of limestone and flint from the Jurassic era. Between seventy and ninety-five meters in altitude, ocean winds 150 kilometers away bring freshness and balance to the vines. From these soils are born still and sparkling wines — including single-plot cuvées such as Le Moulin des Quints, La Maison Cassée, and La Pomasse — each expressing the character of its terroir.
The name La Paleine comes from the blue molinie (Molinia cerulea), a native grass once used in ancient wickerwork. It symbolizes patience, resilience, and grace — qualities that continue to guide the estate, uniting nature, people, and time.