Domaine De Villargeau - Coteaux Du Giennois - Sauvignon Blanc - 2022

$21.99

Coteaux du Giennois sits just north of Pouilly-Fume on the same clay-limestone and flint, and Sauvignon Blanc rules there too. Villargeau is the estate that put the appellation on the map. Marc Thibault farms 23 hectares of south-facing vines his family planted on cleared hillsides starting in 1991, a Terra Vitis member, no pesticides, grass between the rows. Every parcel ferments separately in stainless on wild yeast. Sancerre energy without the Sancerre bill.

Tangerine, grapefruit and lemon over lily of the valley and elderberry. Lime blossom and bergamot with air. Fresh and lively on the palate, fine and intense, closing on clean flinty minerality.

Classic matches for Sauvignon Blanc: Goat cheese, oysters, green salads, anything with fresh herbs.

The domaine was founded in 1991 when brothers Jean-Fernand and Francois Thibault cleared forgotten hillsides at Villargeau, a micro-hamlet of stone barns built around 1730. The family were cattle and grain farmers first. The new solar-powered winery sits beside the old barn.