Domaine du Saut au Loup: Vineyards
The cellars used by Eric Santier are the original Domaine Dozon cellars, located in Ligré. When I first visited the domaine I noted the buildings were surrounded by vines, and I asked Eric if they were his. They aren’t of course, as almost all his vines are located 2.5 kilometres distant, in the lieu-dit of Saut au Loup. The vines around the cellars belong to Baudry-Dutour, and in fact lie outside the borders of the Chinon appellation; they are all Sauvignon Blanc, and are used by Baudry-Dutour for their entry-level Sauvignon cuvée.
The domaine has 13.5 hectares of vines in a single parcel (pictured) in the lieu-dit of Saut au Loup, including the 7 hectares within the original Clos du Saut au Loup. This was originally a walled clos, but sadly these walls are no more. Nevertheless the foundations remain and it is easy to trace them around the periphery of the original clos within the broader vineyard. At the heart of the clos (well, to one side to be honest) sits the noble residence (pictured on the first page of this profile) that was the home of Jean-Marie Dozon. The family retained this property when Eric bought the vines in 2013, but ultimately it too changed hands, Eric taking possession of the residence in 2017.
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