Château de Valmer, Renaissance château and winery in Loire Valley, France.

Château de Valmer is a Renaissance castle complex northeast of Chançay, in the Brenne valley. Its main building was gutted by fire in 1948; the surviving Louis XIII pavilion of Petit Valmer, the steward's house built in 1646–1647, stands beside the rock-hewn chapel. The facades show light tan masonry, steep grey slate roofs, dormer windows and tall patterned chimneys above a paved courtyard.

Valmer is first recorded in 1434 under Catherine de Bueil, and Jacques Binet bought it in 1461. Jean Binet rebuilt the medieval castle between 1524 and 1529 and had a chapel cut into the tuff, consecrated in 1535. Thomas Bonneau, adviser to Louis XIII, acquired it in 1640 and added the Louis XIII pavilion of Petit Valmer in 1646–1647. The main building was almost destroyed by fire in 1948.

The name Valmer comes from the fief held by Catherine de Bueil in 1434. Since 1888 the estate has belonged to the de Saint Venant family, and its 28 hectares of clay-limestone and clay-siliceous plots yield Vouvray from Chenin and Touraine rosé from Grolleau. The walled one-hectare kitchen garden keeps around 900 old or lost fruit, vegetable and plant species, and the estate holds more than 3,500 kinds of seeds.

The gardens and caves are open for visitors to explore, with wine tastings available on-site. It is best to check ahead as access and opening times vary seasonally.

The rock-cut chapel holds a polychrome stone bas-relief, probably carved after a drawing by Jean Fouquet, the 15th-century painter from Tours. It was found in 1885 at Vernou-sur-Brenne, a few kilometres away, and brought to Valmer. Thomas II had the chapel frescoes restored in 1826, leaving his coat of arms cartouche as evidence.