Henri Bourgeois, 2023 Update
The village of Chavignol, which sits almost directly west of the hill-top town of Sancerre, is something of a mecca for the wine-minded traveller. While many less wine-minded visitors to the region will perhaps be content to wander the streets of Sancerre itself, and call in on one of the numerous shops here where you can taste, buy and even arrange for your wines to be shipped home, I suspect for true wine geeks this won’t be enough.
After all, they know that just a few kilometres away sits Chavignol and its three magnificent Kimmeridgian vineyards, Les Monts Damnés, Le Cul de Beaujeu and La Grande Côte (the last one technically in Amigny, but let’s not allow a simple boundary line to spoil a good story). The call of the Kimmeridgian is strong. As indeed is the roll call of famous names that can be found up and down the tiny, winding back streets of this village, from François Cotat to Anne Vatan, and everyone in-between.
Not every vigneron based in Chavignol secludes themselves behind locked doors at the end of anonymous lanes though. One domaine which sits here in full view is Henri Bourgeois. Indeed, it is almost impossible to pass through the village without stumbling across the domaine; sitting on either side of the road (pictured) as it ascends to the level of the crest of Les Monts Damnés, the capacious cellars, multi-level vinification facilities, shop, tasting room and offices dominate the top end of the village. And given that the family tend well over 70 hectares of vines, and take négoce fruit from at least 70 more, it is perhaps not surprising that they have more than a barrel cellar or two to their name.
Despite being a large operation with a foothold in the majority of the Central Vineyard appellations, the Bourgeois family, fronted by Arnaud Bourgeois, continues with a fined-tuned parcellaire approach. Their portfolio of vineyards includes some choice spots on the Kimmeridgian soils of Les Monts Damnés, along with some much-valued plots on flint soils, on the (generally) south-facing slopes of Saint-Satur, directly north of the town of Sancerre. From these various sites they fashion an all encompassing range which runs from blended multi-site entry-level drink-me-now wines, to upmarket single-terroir cuvées and small-volume cuvée parcellaires. As such, even if your vinous education told you small is beautiful, it is always worth checking out what this highly regarded family of vignerons have been up to.
With this in mind In early 2023 I stopped off to taste with Arnaud Bourgeois, looking at 19 different wines, in white, rosé and red.
