Henri Bourgeois Sancerre la Vignes Blanches

Half a century ago, Henri Bourgeois cultivated just a few hectares of vines in the heart of Chavignol, a traditional village in the Berry region. His pioneering spirit saw him move away from multi-crop farming and focus his passion into wine-making.

Alongside his sons, Remi and Jean-Marie, who very soon gained a reputation for discovering marvellous terroirs, the vineyard of Henri Bourgeois gradually extended over several villages in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume, forming a mosaic of parcels cultivated with meticulous care.

In the mid 80's, a modern, eco-friendly cellar was built to provide exceptionally good conditions for careful winemaking and wine ageing.

The current generation of the Bourgeois family decided to modernise the facilities by using the advantageous topography of the village to build a gravity-fed winery.

Today, the 72 hectares cultivated by the Bourgeois family composes a palatte of 120 parcels.

Made from the slopes of the Loire Valley, this Sauvignon Blanc take advantage of 10th generation of winemaking experience of our family.

Sauvignon Blanc,

It is on the clay-limestone slopes located on the hills west of Sancerre, that "La Vigne Blanche" gives the most accomplished expression of his palette aromatic and complex. Controlled yields and vigour, inter-row grassing, use of organic fertilizers, input limitation, everything is done to make the grapes as perfect as possible.

Each stage of winemaking aims to preserve and develop full aromatic potential wine. Soft pressing, fermentation between 15-18 degrees Celsius in vats thermo-regulated stainless steel, then rested for 5 months on its fine lees.

"La Vigne Blanche" is a wine of exotic fruit and citrus aromas; subtle yet powerful. Its persistence and harmony find their origin in the exposition and quality of the terroir.

This Sancerre blanc is typical of the appellation and the Domaine Henri Bourgeois style. Subtle yet powerful, its persistence and harmony find their origin in the exposition and quality of the terroir. Crispy, and fruity this wine has some lime, apple and gunflint aromas balanced by ripe tropical and yellow orchard fruits.

Very pleasant at the beginning of the meal, it reveals an excellent companion of the sea dishes: scallops Mango emulsion, rolled from Bar to Curry and of course the famous Crottin of Chavignol.

Nolan - Text from the Spotlight On French White Wines & Their Global Influences blog.

Sancerre is arguably the most famous village in the Loire Valley for Sauvignon Blanc production. Here, at the Eastern end of the Loire, Sauvignon Blanc can reach peak ripeness whilst showing more restraint than many examples from the New World.

The soils in Sancerre are very variable. Here you can find chalk, limestone clays, limestone gravel and silex (flint). All of these soil types give you different flavour profiles which are worth seeking out. Our focus for today, from Henri Bourgeois, is from vines all grown in limestone clay soils. Limestone gives you freshness and acidity but with out the struck match smokiness you get from Silex soils.

Through a full 10 generations, what started as a small operation in the village of Chavignol has evolved to encapsulate 72 hectares in the Eastern Loire. 120 individual parcels of vines including plantings in both Sancerre and across the river in Pouilly Fume. Henri Bourgeois runs the estate with his sons, Remi and Jean-Marie. The winery and cellar are all modern and eco focused, including being gravity fed meaning no power is used pumping juice through the winery. The wines are clean and crisp with modern stainless-steel tanks used for fermentation and aging.

The "La Vigne Blanche" expression from Henri Bourgeois is by far our best-selling Loire white, (if you don’t take in to account the brilliant Petit Sauvignon also made by Henri!). This wine shows the subtle power that Sancerre is famous for, but at the same time also shows some beautiful tropical elements due to the vines being planted on sunnier, West and Southwest facing slopes. The subtlety of the wines from Sancerre makes them infinitely drinkable. They do not need any accompanying food to enjoy, and are also not so intense that one glass is all you want.

This style of Sauvignon is made for goats/sheeps cheese, the two just work. Try with a Crottin of Chavignol. This will also stand up to some more exotic flavours, try pairing it with scallops served with a mango emulsion.