Château de la Cassemichère

The Château de la Cassemichère is a 17th-century residence and historic wine estate located in La Chapelle-Heulin, in the Loire-Atlantique department of the Pays de la Loire region in western France. It stands in the heart of the Muscadet Sèvre-et-Maine vineyard, about 18–20 km south-east of Nantes, surrounded by roughly 28–45 hectares of vines and 5 hectares of woodland.

The manor and land belonged to the de Baye family in the early 15th century and later to the Pantin family. In 1601 the present building was constructed for Roland Giraud, sieur de la Cassemichère, a wealthy Nantes silk-cloth merchant who served as consul and échevin of the city (1620–1622). One of his sons, Mathurin Giraud, later became mayor of Nantes (1664–1666).

In 1739 the estate was sold to François Cottineau, a Nantes merchant, échevin and consul (1749–1751) involved in maritime trade. Under his ownership a 1740 notarial act first records the word “Muscadet” in connection with the authorisation to plant vines on the property; he is regarded as an important early figure in the development of the Muscadet appellation. Shortly before the Revolution the estate passed to the Le Loup de La Biliais family. The châtelain and his wife were guillotined in Nantes in 1794 for sheltering a refractory priest; the property was sequestered and later repurchased by their son. During the Second Empire it fell into neglect and was subdivided.

In the mid-20th century the wine merchant Donatien Bahuaud acquired and extensively renovated the château (1955–1960). The Nantes sculptor Auguste Pichaud decorated the cellar corbels with bas-reliefs on the themes of wine and gluttony (including Bacchus and Adam and Eve). In 2005 the estate was purchased by the Ganichaud family (Daniel, with his sons Philippe and Vincent). Philippe, the winemaker, died in September 2025; the family continues to own the château while a partnership with the Ackerman group (specialists in Loire sparkling wines) has managed the vineyards since 2024.

The château is a major Muscadet producer and one of the leading œnotourism destinations in the Nantes vineyard. It welcomes visitors for guided tours, tastings, receptions, weddings and seminars, and offers guest accommodation. It attracts around 12,000 visitors a year and is often presented as one of the historic cradles of Muscadet.