Bouvet-Ladubay was founded in 1851 and is one of the great houses of Saumur sparkling wine. Its cellars are an extraordinary maze of tuffeau galleries — over 8 km of them — that maintain a constant temperature of about 12°C all year. Guided tours run several times daily and end with a tasting.
The site also includes a small theatre, an art gallery, and the option of cycling through the longer galleries on a fleet of underground bicycles — a slightly gimmicky but genuinely fun way to see the more distant cellars. The wines themselves, made by the méthode traditionnelle from Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc, range from straightforward Saumur Brut to remarkably good top cuvées.