The estate is located in Thauvenay, the ancestral home of the Laloue family.
It is comprised of 20 hectares of AOC Sancerre (Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir grapes) and 5 hectares of IGP Côtes de la Charité (Chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes) vineyards.
The estate produces approximately 200,000 bottles per year. France is our principal market though we also currently export to approximately fifteen countries.
Although his parents were farmers, Serge decided to focus on viticulture.
He began to expand the estate to have 20 hectares of AOC Sancerre vines in his native village of Thauvenay.
That is where his children grew up, amid the vines and the winery, where work and family life were indissociable.
The first cuvée to be crafted with grapes from selected terroirs, our Cuvée Silex, which grew to become the estate’s “jewel” over the years, marked the arrival of a plot selection approach at the estate.
From this date on, profound changes were undertaken in vineyard management. The estate began to implement environmentally responsible practices.
Serge’s son returned to the estate, after pursuing viticultural studies in Beaune.
The entire grape reception area was completely renovated.
Christine, Franck’s sister, came back to work at the estate.
This was the first vintage of the Cuvée 1166, named for the number of vine stocks in this little plot on the hill of Sancerre, facing the Loire River. Aged in demi-muids (600-litre barrels), this wine boasts complexity and freshness as well as remarkable cellaring potential.
The Estate was taken over by Christine & Franck.
Our red Sancerre Cuvée Les Rôties came into being. This cuvée, crafted from grapes grown on limestone terroirs in selected plots, yields wines that boast remarkable elegance and feature aromas and flavours of red fruit. The totality of the wines are aged in 600-litre barrels and each year 2 to 3 of them are selected for the crafting of this cuvée.
A concrete egg was purchased in order to carry out an experiment for the vinification of wine from limestone terroirs. After a year of ageing, the wine proved to be very mineral, floral and airy, and so our Cuvée Les Poitevinnes, resulting from plot selection, was born.
We opened a shop in the town centre, which allows us to welcome visitors during the tourist season.
Acquisition of 5 hectares (2.5 ha Chardonnay and 2.5 ha Pinot Noir) of IGP Côtes de la Charité vineyards.
Located in Mauvrain in the commune of La Celle-sur-Nièvre, these plots are niched in a lush green setting in the middle of the Bertranges forest on magnificent terroirs composed of terres blanches (white earth).
Christine & Franck have great ambition for these wines.
Franck’s son, Clément, is currently pursuing his post-secondary studies in viticulture-oenology, so the future of the estate is guaranteed.
New plot on a magnificent plot on flint soil with aging in Stockinger tuns for 1 year.
Construction of a new winery
After 3 years of conversion, the Domaine is now certified in AB for all production.
Christine and Franck are attentive to the vines and their cycle. Revolving around an environmentally responsible approach, a great deal of work is performed in the vineyards in order to respect the natural balance of the vines and obtain the best possible grapes.
In 2019, we began the process for obtaining organic agriculture certification. This is the result of many years of orienting our vineyard management techniques in this direction: ploughing the soil, not using herbicides, growing cover crops between the rows of vines, sexual confusion, etc. Our first certified organic vintage will be that of 2023.
We are proactive and attentive to our clients with whom we enjoy sharing our passion for this legacy that was handed down to us by our parents.
1. The sandy-clay soils are iron rich and contain few stones. They are found toward the base of the slopes. These soils yield wines that boast exceptional aromatic finesse with floral and fruity notes.
2. The "caillottes are particularly stony calcareous soils. Located at mid-slope, they encourage rapid ripening of the grapes. The cuvées crafted with grapes from these terroirs take on floral notes and flavours of black fruit (especially blackcurrant). They are soft and are perfectly suited to being enjoyed in their youth.
3. The flint soils are found at the top of the slopes. They lend the wine mineral notes such as gunflint. As they are rather hard in their youth, it is preferable to lay them down for a short while so that they may soften and reveal their spicy aromas.
