Historic producers like Domaine Laporte, founded in St-Satur in 1850 and in possession of some of the best vineyard holdings in the area, have resisted the movement towards mass production and commercial excess that have swept through the region in the last century. When wine-growing stalwart Henri Bourgeois purchased the Domaine in the '80s, he maintained Laporte's old-vine sites and embraced organic practices and commitment to tradition.
One such old site? Les Garennes, which is surrounded by wild forests and enriched by the local flora and fauna of the unique terroir. Planted in the 1970s to soils dominated by Oxfordian-era Jurassic limestone, the Sauvignon Blanc sourced here is marked by struck stone and flint, and its eastern exposure allows for a ripe, generous core of fruit. Golden raspberry, quince, mixed citrus zest, and freshly cut wildflowers—if you had any doubts as to why Sancerre is the world's favorite Sauvignon Blanc, this will put them all to rest.
