History
The estate comprises 10.5 hectares. It is based in Bué, one of the Sancerre appellation’s leading winemaking villages, just a few kilometres from the village of Sancerre itself.
Since 1932, the estate has been in the hands of the Cirotte family, who make classical Sancerres from steep hillside vineyards, farmed sustainably.
Their cuvée ‘Caillottes’ (one of the classic stony, calcareous soil types of Sancerre) is a tribute to their land.
It layers zesty, ripe fruit with the scent of white flowers, subtle spice and a light creamy texture from ageing in acacia barrels.
This is a small family domaine with origins in the 16th century, and the Cirotte family took the reins in 1932.
Joel and Sylvie Cirotte have been running the domaine since 1990 and in 2012 were joined by their son Fabien, now in his thirties.
The estate achieved the highest level 3 in France’s sustainability programme HVE (Haute Valeur Environnementale – ‘High Environmental Value’).
The Vineyards
The estate is run along sustainable lines and for the last decade has been certified under France’s Terra Vitis organisation.
Bué has some of the greatest vineyards of the entire Sancerre appellation, with its mix of soils comprising classic caillottes (stony calcareous soils), terres blanches (calcareous clays), and terres rouges (portlandian clays) with some silex (flint).
The wine is made from just 0.5ha of 35-year-old vines from the Chêne Marchand and Grand Chemarin vineyards, in the heart of the village of Bué. Facing south-west, these are some of the very best vineyards of the Sancerre appellation
Sancerre has what is termed a ‘cool continental’ climate, generally cold and dry in the winter, and sunny and warm in the summer.
The clay-limestone soil is conductive to the development of precise, mineral Sauvignon Blanc and in mid September the grapes are hand-harvested