A Visit to Domaine Guiberteau, 2017
Walking up and across the hill of Brézé for the first time I think it would be fair to say I was a little underwhelmed. Observing it from the north, en route from Saint-Cyr-en-Bourg, this hill is to the unappreciative eye little more than a very gentle incline leading up to a copse of trees that sits atop its summit, a mere 80 metres above sea level. Viewing it from the west it perhaps has slightly more impact, although this is partly down to the presence of the rather magnificent Château de Brézé. Positioned two-thirds of the way up the slope, above the village of Brézé itself, this imposing edifice sits atop ancient cellars and troglodytic tunnels dug deep into the underlying rock, an underground fortress parts of which date back to the 12th century.
The Hill of Brézé
Perhaps this rather understated and eminently assailable slope is one reason why the hill of Brézé is such a strong candidate for the most under-appreciated of all the Loire Valley’s great vineyard sites. Consider, for a moment, some of its peers. The Clos de la Coulée de Serrant, so praised by the gastronomic writer Curnonsky, provides a commanding view of the valley (or coulée) below and the Loire beyond which, once seen, is never forgotten. And neither are the wines Nicolas Joly fashions from its slopes (for a variety of reasons, depending on your palate and preferences, I suppose). And then there is the magnificent Les Monts Damnés; once I had stood atop this precipitous slope and looked down onto the rooftops of Chavignol my understanding of this particular corner of the Sancerre appellation changed forever. And the wines, from the likes of Gérard Boulay, François Cotat and Pierre Martin, are some of the most superlative to come out of the region.
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