Loire

The appellation is located on the upper Loire river in central France. It is named after the town of the same name, which lies on a hill on the west bank of the river. Legend has it that king Henry IV. (1553–1610), who was also known as a wine lover, planted a tree near Chavignol that remains standing to this day. He is claimed to have said that the wine made in this town was the best he had ever drunk, and if all the subjects in his kingdom would drink it, this would put an end to the religious wars. At that time, primarily red wines were produced here, a situation that has changed copletely. The vineyard area totals 2.600 hectares, the vineyards are all located on hills at an altitude of 200 to 400 metres above sea level, the soils consist of clay, gravel or flintstone on a sub-soil of limestone. The following communes or parts of communes are permitted to add their name to that of the appellation: Bannay, Bué, Brie (suburb of Bué), Chavignol (suburb of Sancerre), Crézancy, Menetou-Ratel, Ménétréol, Pouilly, Sancerre, Sainte-Gemme, Saint-Hilaire-Saint-Florent, Saint Satur, Sury-en-Vaux, Thauvenay, Veauges, Verdigny and Vinon. The dry white wine has a long maturation potential, and is a straight varietal made from Sauvignon Blanc. It is very similar to that produced in the AC Pouilly-Fumé, which lies just a few kilometres up the river. Light, aromatic rosé and red wines are made from Pinot Noir, together they make up around a fifth of the total production. Well-known producers include Domaine Bailly-Reverdy, Henry Bourgeois, Cotat Frères, Lucien Crochet, André Dezat, Gustave Fouassier, Gitton, Pascal Jolivet, Domaine Laloue, Serge Laporte, Alphonse Mellot, Joseph Mellot, Merlin-Charrier, Paul Milléroux, Henry Natter, Domaine da la Perriere, Vincent Pinard, Paul Prieur, Domaine Raimbault-Pineau, Pascal & Nicolas Reverdy, Reverdy-Cadet, Dominique Roger, Jean-Max Roger, Domaine des Vieux Pruniers and Domaine Vacheron.