Domaine Gitton is incredibly old-school, and yet, in its time it was actually pioneering. Back in the 1950s, the Sancerrois refused to plant on Silex (shale) soils, insisting that only Kimmeridgian or Cailotte soils could... Read More

Domaine Gitton is incredibly old-school, and yet, in its time it was actually pioneering. Back in the 1950s, the Sancerrois refused to plant on Silex (shale) soils, insisting that only Kimmeridgian or Cailotte soils could produce top quality Sauvignon Blanc. The Gitton family saw something that the others did not, and in 1959 they planted Sauvignon Blanc vines in the silex fields in the area. The vineyard became known as Galinot.

Of course we now know that silex soils produce excellent Sauvignon Blanc. There are a few examples in Sancerre (we recently offered Les Romains), but the most famous, of course, come from Didier Dagueneau, just across the river in Pouilly-Fume.

And indeed, we've heard whispers of some kind of connection between Dagueneau and Gitton. Clearly they shared an aesthetic. Like Dagueneau’s, the Gitton Sauvignon Blancs are powerful wines made from ripe grapes and aged in wood (old neutral barrels of varying sizes). And like Dagueneau’s wines, Gitton’s Sauvignon Blancs are for ageing.