An independent guide to the people, places and wines of Sancerre.

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The bottles

Wines

A curated starting set of important cuvées, connected to their grower, place, soil family and vintage record.

14entries in the Library
Bottles of Sancerre rosé and white at a tasting

Browse the collection

Wines

Domaine Vacheron · White

Les Romains

A useful reference for the domaine's flint-focused, parcel-led work.

Bottling
Named-site bottling
Soil
Silex
Open entry

Domaine Vacheron · Red

Belle Dame

Included to foreground serious Pinot Noir within the appellation.

Bottling
Named cuvée
Soil
Silex
Open entry

Alphonse Mellot · White

La Moussière

The central reference point in the house's Sancerre range.

Bottling
Estate-defining cuvée
Soil
Caillottes, Terres Blanches
Open entry

Alphonse Mellot · White

Edmond

A cellar-minded expression that shows the estate's more concentrated register.

Bottling
Selection cuvée
Open entry

Pascal Cotat · White

Les Monts Damnés

One producer's reading of Chavignol's celebrated steep slope.

Bottling
Named-site bottling
Soil
Terres Blanches
Open entry

François Cotat · White

La Grande Côte

A Chavignol site reference often followed across bottle age.

Bottling
Named-site bottling
Soil
Terres Blanches
Open entry

Gérard Boulay · White

Clos de Beaujeu

A compact case study in Chavignol slope and marl expression.

Bottling
Named-site bottling
Soil
Terres Blanches
Open entry

Domaine Vincent Pinard · White

Chêne Marchand

A Bué limestone-site bottling suited to comparative tasting.

Bottling
Named-site bottling
Soil
Caillottes
Open entry

Domaine Claude Riffault · White

Les Boucauds

A marl-oriented cuvée within a range designed for site comparison.

Bottling
Named-site bottling
Soil
Terres Blanches
Open entry

Henri Bourgeois · White

Jadis

A more concentrated point in the family's broad Sancerre range.

Bottling
Selection cuvée
Open entry

Domaine Lucien Crochet · White

Le Chêne Marchand

Another producer lens on a notable Bué limestone site.

Bottling
Named-site bottling
Soil
Caillottes
Open entry

Domaine Fouassier · White

Les Romains

Part of the domaine's broad lieu-dit exploration of Sancerre.

Bottling
Named-site bottling
Soil
Silex
Open entry

Domaine Thomas-Labaille · White

Les Monts Damnés

A direct way to compare another interpretation of this Chavignol slope.

Bottling
Named-site bottling
Soil
Terres Blanches
Open entry

Domaine Delaporte · White

Silex

A clear entry in the estate's soil-focused range.

Bottling
Soil-focused cuvée
Soil
Silex
Open entry

Two growers, one name

Taste the same site twice.

Les Romains comes from both Domaine Vacheron and Domaine Fouassier, and Les Monts Damnés from both Pascal Cotat and Domaine Thomas-Labaille. Open a pair together before you look at a vintage chart.

Read the vintage notes
Photo credits for this page (15)
  1. AOC sancerre rosé jamesonf CC BY 2.0
  2. HBLA Klosterneuburg Sauvignon Blanc 1 Geolina163 + 1971markus CC BY-SA 4.0
  3. Close-up of red wine being poured into a glass with a blurred outdoor backdrop Bhullargraphic CC BY-SA 4.0
  4. A hand pours white wine from a bottle into a glass, capturing the festive spirit of a gathering in a garden Shixart1985 CC BY 2.0
  5. Cuvée Edmond Alphonse Mellot Sancerre Thomas Leth-Olsen CC BY-SA 2.0
  6. Cotat Sancerre dpotera CC BY 2.0
  7. 2013 Sancerre Le Grandes Cotes, Francois Cotat, Loire, France (29603084406) Lou Stejskal CC BY 2.0
  8. Rallye des vignobles 2019, 48, Sancerrois, coteau Cjp24 CC BY-SA 4.0
  9. Whitewine - South Africa Merlin Bungart CC BY 2.5
  10. SANCERRE Claude Riffault, “Les Boucauds,” Loire Valley, France 2015 Lou Stejskal CC BY 2.0
  11. Henri Bourgeois Sancerre Jadis 2001 nyaa_birdies_perch CC BY 2.0
  12. IGP côtes-catalanes verres de vin blanc belgianchocolate CC BY 2.0
  13. Le Harenguier - verres de vin blanc Benoît Prieur CC0 1.0
  14. Pied sauvignon blanc Olivier Lemoine (Photo-Terroir.fr) CC BY-SA 4.0
  15. Glasses 2016 (Unsplash) Tamara Menzi CC0 1.0

Licences and file details for every image: Image credits.