Christian & Karine Lauverjat Pouilly Fumé 2023

The Lauverjat family has been farming in the Loire Valley for generations in the tiny village of Sury-en-Vaux in Sancerre. For many years, the family had a mill on a tiny river called La Belaine that is next to the winery and they used to mill their own wheat; the winery is still known by some as the "Moulin des Vrillères". They have 110 hectares of grains, including wheat, hops, and rapeseed and 13 hectare of vines in Sury-en-Vaux and Sainte-Gemme-en-Sancerrois, two small villages within the Sancerre appellation. In 2019, Karine's son, Kevin joined Karine's husband, Christian at the winery after finishing his studies in Beaune. Their daughter, Suzie, helps Karine run their wine and gift shop in the center of Sancerre. 

Located just across the Loire River from Sancerre, you will find Pouilly-Fumé, which is also planted to Sauvignon Blanc for white wine, and the soil here has river deposits and the Portlandian limestone joins the Kimmeridgian limestone. The flint is known to add smoky notes to the wine, hence the name of the village - fumé!

The Lauverjat family farms following sustainable viticulture, which is as close to organic as possible, without having the certification, they still work naturally to preserve the authenticity of the terroir. They favor working the soil and have used a pulverized seaweed to combat disease since 2008, allowing them to reduce chemical treatments for mildew by 30%. They never use herbicides or pesticides and they grow grass in the rows to prevent erosion.

They make Sancerre in all three types, white, rose and red, as well as an excellent Menetou-Salon and this Pouilly-Fumé. In the cellar the whites are made in thermo-regulated tanks and the reds are made in large wooden conical tanks. Several years ago, they invested in a new clay filtration system that allows them to very gently filter the wines without stripping them of their character. The wines from Lauverjat undoubtedly represent some of the best values to be had from the appellation. If you love Sancerre, you must try this white!