1. WHAT IT IS
A place, not a grape: a hilltop town and wine region atthe eastern end of France’s Loire Valley, two hours south of Paris. Its whites are 100% Sauvignon Blanc (about 80% of production); the restis Pinot Noir, for red and rosé.

2. HOW IT TASTES
Pale, dry and crisp, with lots of acidity: lime, green apple and grapefruit, and a mineral, sometimes smoky edge. Restrained and elegant, unlike the riper, tropical style of New Zealand’s Marlborough.

3. THE LAND
•Location: on the left bank of the Loire, closer to Chablis (about 100 km) than to much of the Loire, which stretches some 400 km west to Muscadet
•Soils: three main types. Terres blanches (about 40%): white Kimmeridgian clay-limestone with fossilised oyster shells, giving fuller wines. Caillottes (about 40%): stony limestone, giving finer, fruitier wines. Silex (about 15%): flint, giving a sharper, smoky edge
• The appellation: 14 villages, the best known being Chavignol; no hierarchy, so the producer’s name matters most

4. A LITTLE HISTORY

Sancerre was a red wine region first. After phylloxera destroyed its vineyards in the 1880s, growers replanted on American rootstock and found Sauvignon Blanc thrived. Pouilly-Fumé was once the better known of the two; today Sancerre is one of France’s most famous whites.

5. SANCERRE AND ITS SIBLING
• Pouilly-Fumé: just across the river on the right bank, about half the size; less rivals than “competitive siblings”
• Same grape, different soils: both are Sauvignon Blanc, but Pouilly-Fumé’s flint(silex) soils give a smokier, flintier style
• Explore further: Pascal Jolivet, our Featured Winery, on the Winexel website

6. OUR RECOMMENDED PAIRING
• The classic: Crottin de Chavignol, the local goat’s cheese
• Also great with: oysters, grilled white fish, prawns, crab, sushi, and even asparagus, a famously tricky match
• Names to look for: Henri Bourgeois, Alphonse Mellot, Vacheron and Pascal Jolivet

7. SAY IT RIGHT
Sancerre = “sahn-SAIR”. Pouilly-Fumé = “poo-YEE foo-MAY”. Loire = “lwahr”.

8. IN A WORD
Mineral. Sauvignon Blanc with a sense of place: crisp, restrained and shaped by ancient seabed soils.