Jean-Philippe Agisson: Vineyards
Jean-Philippe Agisson, his wife Stéphanie and young family are located in a small and isolated valley in Sury-en-Vaux, arguably not the most famous of the Sancerre communes. The house sits at the summit of a grassy garden, below which runs the single-track tarmac lane which heads through La Vallée until – like many such roads I have explored over the years – it eventually transitions into a rough rural track which heads up into the vines. On the opposite site of the road to the house and garden is Jean-Philippe’s undeniably bijou cellars, which if there were a prize for smallest winery in the world would surely be a strong contender.
Having started out in the 2017 vintage with a tiny parcel of Sauvignon Blanc vines, the domaine has grown in a gradual and organic fashion since then. When I visited Jean-Philippe in 2024 he had expanded to 2.5 hectares, although half a hectare of this still required planting. Most are of vines are Sauvignon Blanc, unsurprisingly, although a 0.35-hectare slice of the domaine is accounted for by Sancerre’s other cultivar, Pinot Noir.
The majority of the vines are in the Sancerre appellation, and they are located in a number of micro-parcels. These include Éclat de Silex, young vines just five-years old, planted as the name suggests on flint, and Les Filles et Les Plantes, vines planted between 1974 and 1994 on a south-facing slope of terres blanches in Sury-en-Vaux.
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