Located in Amigny, just outside Sancerre, the estate is comprised of 17 hectares of vines, planted predominantly on limestone with multiple soil types making up the difference, including the famous flint of ‘Les Romains’ (coming next shipment). The Millérioux’s have worked the land there for three generations, and since 2008 the Domaine has been run by Nicolas, son of Jean-Claude. Nico’s influence has seen a change in the viticultural approach, returning to the best lo-fi practices of the past. The vineyard work is now entirely organic (with certification on the way!), relying on indigenous yeasts, no herbicides being used and the soils worked by hand. The wines are left to ferment naturally, with very minimal sulphur used at racking and bottling.

Nicolas aims to produce Sancerre that tastes like it did in the early 20th century, before vine cloning and industrial practices became commonplace. He is leading the way as part of the new generation, creating wines of breathtaking purity and vibrancy, true to the terroir, and showing elegance and finesse.

Practices and philosophies like those of Nicolas Millérioux are rare in Sancerre so we jumped when we found a producer who aligned so neatly with us.

Nicolas Millérioux is part of a contingent of young French vignerons who have travelled enough to see how the world's top appellations are going retrograde – returning to the best lo-fi practices of the past – and has now brought these techniques to his family's vineyards in Sancerre at Domaine Georges Millérioux. Located in the hamlet of Amigny, just west of the village of Sancerre and south of Chavignol, the Millérioux's have worked the land here for three generations, eventually expanding to the 15ha they farm today. Amigny is known for its chalky soils, and 95% of the Millérioux's holdings come from a mix of the classic limestone terroirs of the region: "Caillotes" (a hard, shallow limestone full of stones) and "Terres Blanches" (a softer Kimmeridgian marl). Nico returned to the family Domaine in 2008 and immediately stopped using herbicides and began replanting some vines using massale selection, which almost never happens with Sauvignon Blanc. Today, the work in the vineyards is completely organic (with certification coming) and the soils are worked manually. In the cellar, all of the wines are allowed to ferment naturally and extended lees-aging is used to enrich the wines, which allows for minimal sulphur additions only at racking and bottling. Nico's goal is to define how Sancerre might have tasted earlier in the 20th century, before modern vine-clone monotony and industrial practices in the vineyards and cellar, and if his early work is any indication, he will surely be leading the charge as part of Sancerre’s new generation.