Gratien Meyer

History

In 1864 Alfred Gratien founded the house in Saumur and acquired a vineyard and five kilometres of tuffeau cellars facing the Loire.¹ In 1896 his partnership with Jean-Albert Meyer, a young winegrower from Alsace, created the house of Gratien & Meyer.¹ In 1920-1930 the house built its Art Deco facade and modernised its installations.¹ In 1984 it launched the cuvée Flamme in its own bottle shape, which the house describes as a first among Saumur houses.¹

Vineyards

In 2018 the house made its first purchase of 42 hectares of vines in the Crémant de Loire appellation; by 2023 further purchases had brought its own vineyard to more than 100 hectares.¹ In 2026 it dropped the ampersand from its name and now presents itself as Gratien Meyer.¹

Ownership

According to Henkell Freixenet, Gratien Meyer joined the group in 2000, together with Alfred Gratien and the Slovak producer Hubert J.E.² The group is described on the Henkell page.

Crémant de Loire is made by the traditional method and spends at least 9 months on the lees.³ Another historic house of the same town is Bouvet-Ladubay; see also Saumur mousseux.