Henri Bourgeois: Vineyards
The domaine easily ranks within the top ten largest domaines in the entire Loire Valley, and thus it is surely not hard to imagine how it must look when lined up against some of the decidedly bijou operations in Chavignol. Today there are 74 hectares of vineyards under the Bourgeois family’s direction, a huge rate of growth considering that in the mid-20th-century Etienne Henri Bourgeois, who gave his name to the domaine, started off with only 2 hectares. The domaine’s vines provide only about part of the firm’s needs, however, the remaining fruit being purchased from local growers. So this business is part-domaine, part-négociant.
The Henri Bourgeois vines are scattered across 120 parcels, and are all Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, although the former certainly dominates. The focus is Sancerre, indeed Chavignol, as this is where the majority of the vineyards are located, but there are other plots scattered across all the appellations of the Central Vineyards. Many of the vines around Chavignol they own, and these vineyards provide the Bourgeois family with about 60% of all the fruit they need.
