100% Sauvignon Blanc

Food pairings: Shellfish, fish, and lighter meats.

Winemaking: The grapes are pressed in a pneumatic press, which avoids jostling the skins and gives a very clean must. Fermentation takes place with native yeasts in barrel-shaped stainless-steel vats, with no added yeasts or superfluous additives, and the 2023 was aged for 10 months in stainless steel. It was not fined and had only a light filtration.

Vineyards and terroir: Domaine du Nozay is a blend of three vineyards, all on Kimmeridgian marl, the terres blanches of Sancerre, from 25-year-old vines on a northern exposure. Pruning, disbudding and training create a favorable microclimate, the soil is managed for the benefit of the vine, and the domaine even experiments with sonic stimulation, with speaker towers playing tonal sequences through the day to support sap circulation.

Family and history: Le Nozay is a small 17th-century château near Sainte-Gemme-en-Sancerrois. Baron Philippe de Benoist and his wife Marie-Hélène settled there in 1970 and planted their first Sauvignon Blanc in 1971, creating Domaine du Nozay. Their son Cyril now heads the estate, which has been certified organic since 2011 and biodynamic since 2017.

In the pictures: Château du Nozay, the domaine's vineyards, its barrel-shaped stainless-steel vats, and Cyril de Benoist. Photos courtesy of Wilson Daniels.