The Côte Roannaise is a vineyard of the Loire Valley, located at the south part of the river, near its springs. It’s settled on hills overlooking the Loire and forming the foothills of the Massif Central. Our vineyard is confidential, with only slightly more than 230 hectares (568 acres) of vines planted on the best granitic hills, between 400 and 500 meters (1200ft to 1500 ft) of elevation.
Our estate is located in the village of Villemontais, in the south part of the appellation. The Pothier family, our ancestors, has exploited it for centuries. The vine occupied the most part of it, a few cows being bred on the plots too humid for the vines. In 1916, Blaise Pothier is killed in the war; the estate is taken over by his sister and her husband, Claude Paire. In 1949, Benoît Paire, their son, inherited the estate and started modernizing it (The estate was 2ha of vines wide and lived mainly of breeding). His son, Georges, took his place in 1974.Passionate about vine, he started planting again, helped by his wife, Denise. The vine surface went up to 5 ha. In 2005, Romain joined his parents and got installed, taking his turn in the tradition. Plantations continue, the winery is modernized and the estate turns to organic then biodynamic growing. Today, the estate is once again mainly turned to vine growing (even though there’s still a little limousine cattle) and is 21ha big.