2024 Sylvain Bailly Sancerre 'Terroirs' 375mL

100% Sauvignon Blanc from estate vines in the village of Bué, one of the greatest villages in the appellation, as well as fruit from Sancerre, Amigny, Crézancy and Montigny.  70% of the vineyards are on limestone “Caillottes” and the remaining 30% on clay-limestone soils “Terres Blanches.” Fermented and aged simply in stainless steel. 

This is a classic styled Sancerre. The wine is jammed full with minerals, citrus and and rich, melon fruit. This wine will sing with most anything you pair with it especially goat cheese or shellfish.

The Bailly family has been synonymous with winegrowing in Sancerre since 1700. Sylvain Bailly brought Domaine Croix Saint Ursin to its greatness in the 1950s, and today, his son, Jacques, runs the estate with the help of his wife, Marie-Hélène, and their daughter Sonia, who joined the domaine as winemaker in 2007. Based in Bué, one of the Sancerre AOC’s finest communes, the Baillys farm 50 acres spread over 23 small parcels within both Sancerre and the nearby AOC of Quincy. Among their holdings are the great vineyards of Grand Chemarin, Le Château, Les Chasseignes, and the famous Chêne Marchand—the latter of which has evolved from its original name Choix Marchand, or “Merchant’s Choice,” the first selection which the purveyors kept for themselves. The soils around Sancerre are composed of two types: chalky limestone with little top-soil from the upper hillsides, which lends an intense floral bouquet and finesse to the wines; and clay-based soils scarce in chalk but rich in topsoil, which imparts a full, rich texture and greater age-ability. Domaine Croix Saint Ursin’s terroirs are sustainably farmed and composed of roughly 60% chalky soils and 40% clay-based soils. This variation enables the Baillys to grow Pinot Noir (for both red and rosé) in the clay soils and to split the Sauvignon vineyards between both the chalk and the clay-based parcels.