The ground beneath the wine

Terroir

Explore Sancerre's three broad soil families while keeping exposure, elevation, vintage, farming and cellar work in the picture.

3entries in the Library

Original Library studio image · AI-generated

soils

Clay-limestone marl, visibly pale in many parcels and concentrated especially in the western part of the appellation.

Geology: Commonly described in regional literature as Kimmeridgian marl and limestone; individual parcels are more complex than a single label.

soils

Limestone soils marked by many small pale stones at the surface; the regional vocabulary also includes the term cris.

Geology: A practical Sancerrois family for hard limestone-derived soils rather than a claim that every caillotte parcel is geologically identical.

soils

Clay-siliceous soils containing flint, called chailloux or silex in the appellation's local vocabulary.

Geology: Flint-bearing ground associated particularly with the Loire-facing, eastern side of the vineyard.

A connected reference

Follow the relationships.

Each entry leads to its producers, places, soils, wines and vintages—so the Library becomes more useful the deeper you go.