La Clef du Récit is situated in the town of Vinon, some 7 km south of Sancerre. The estate was taken over in 2012 by Anthony Girard, a dynamic young winemaker, after having the opportunity to purchase an 8½ hectares of vineyards nearby the small village of Récy (hence the nameof the domaine) in the southern part of the appellation. Today, the estate covers 16 hectares and produces wines from the appellations of Menetou-Salon, Quincy and Sancerre. This lovely Menetou-Salon is produce of 100% Sauvignon Blanc planted to Kimmeridgian marl « Terres Blanches » soils; vivid platinum/yellow with glints of green in color; delicate/discreet aromas suggestive of ripe melon, sweet winter wheat grass, and perhaps a touch of cerfeuil or mint leaf; this is the softer more supple side of Sauvignon Blanc, rounded, just ample, satisfying with a gentle berryish acidity keeping everything moving forward and fresh.

The Charpentier family has been moving to the rhythm of the vine for three generations, currently led by three brothers Jean‑Baptiste, Géraud and Étienne. Their father, François Charpentier, was a pioneer in the history of the Reuilly appellation, fighting for its recognition and ensuring the development and sustainability of high‑end wine production for the last 40 years. The two older brothers began working at the winery in 2009 and took over the estate in 2012. Étienne joined in 2019. Saint‑Vincent is a cuvée paying tribute to the patron saint of winemakers, but also a tribute to their brother Vincent, who passed away at the age of 19 years. Produce of 100% Sauvignon Blanc sustainably‑farmed and planted with south/southeast exposures at elevations of about 120 meters to the clay/limestone soils here a little over an hour's drive to the southwest of Sancerre; pale platinum/yellow in color with discreet Sauvignon Blanc aromas offering suggestion of mint and vine leaf, taut melon, white currants and/or gooseberries; at once crisp and lean if just ample on the tongue, with gentle but vital berryish acidity keeping things hyper‑fresh to the finish.

Produce of 100% Sauvignon Blanc fruit from organically farmed old vines planted to a diversity of soils — caillottes (pebbly), terres blanches (white earth), flint, limestone and calcareous clay; the wine is fermented mostly in stainless steel to retain the fruity floral nature of the wine; pristine yellow/gold in color with green reflections, springtime fresh with hints of green/gold grapes and suggestion of cool ripe melon, the vine leaf itself and, with air, sense of fresh rainfall on crushed stone; crisp and cool on entry, just ample, then demonstrating a tangy fruity berryish acidity and a stony minerality on the pleasingly fresh, crisp mouthwatering finish.

Produce of 100% Sauvignon Blanc planted to the argilo/calcaire (clay/limestone) and silex (flint‑rich) soils of the hills and ridges between the villages of Chavignol and Sancerre. Domaine Henri Bourgeois have been producing wine here for 10 generations. And this, their opening salvo among their myriad offerings is, in our humble estimation, a shining example of textbook Sancerre: vivid yellow/gold in color with emerald green reflections; subtle Sauvignon Blanc aromas suggestive of citrus and cool ripe melon and the ever Kimmeridgian clay/limestone underpinnings (one can almost smell the refreshment to come); poised on the palate, holding shape while delivering a wholly welcome wallop of vibrant fresh, crisp, mouthwateringly minérale Sancerrois Sauvignon Blanc flavor.

Domaine André Neveu was founded in the mid-1960s and is located in the town of Chavignol, also famous for its superb goat cheese Crottin de Chavignol. Valérie (3rd generation and the daughter of André Neveu) and her husband Thomas now run the domaine that extends to about 13 hectares (about 32 acres) of vines in the AOC of Sancerre. The name of the wine «Les Longues Fins» is a nod to the long slender plot of vines (all in Chavignol) planted to soils exclusively of limestone and from which the Sauvignon Blanc fruit for this wine is sourced. Brilliant platinum/yellow in color with a panoply of ultra‑fine aromas suggestive of honeysuckle, peche de vigne, juicy ripe ruby red grapefruit, orange zest, crisp cool green melon, fresh picked chervil and summer rain‑moistened limestone; ultra‑fine on the palate as well, at once both slender of frame, yet ample, crisp and yet supple, too, and all the while fresh as spring itself with a nice streak of nervy fruity acidity keeping the taste buds all atwitter, indeed, long on the finish. Delicieux!

Well, the nickname for the wine, that is Petit F… , leaves a bit to the imagination. We have a bit of a joke with this around here. Probably just Fumé, though. And, to be sure, in terms of its value, this wine is smokin'. Pouilly‑Fumé is a bit under 20 minutes by car (not at all far, some 19 kilomètres or so) down the road from Sancerre. Short distance aside, there are, as well, more similarities between the wines from these two appellations than there are differences. Oh, for sure, there's a bit more clay in the soils at Pouilly‑Fumé, but, as in Sancerre, there is also flint. Pouilly‑Fumé, like Sancerre (Blanc) is made purely from Sauvignon Blanc grapes, a type of vine whose clusters are formed of small ovoid grapes, pressed against each other and resembling small bird eggs. At maturity, these grapes are coated with a grey bloom, the color of smoke — which explains why winegrowers here use the term "white smoke" or Blanc Fumé to describe the aroma/flavor of the wines. We, being fully convinced of the concept of terroir, note the flint. Rub two of these stones together et voilà, l'arôme de fumé blanche, a.k.a. gunsmoke. And, the wines nowadays, in these comparatively enlightened vinous times, demonstrate fully more desirable aromas: pristine platinum/yellow in color with ultra‑fresh aromas suggestive of ripe green/gold grapes ready for harvest in the cool of the morning, wine‑moistened limestone and gently toasted baguette with sweet butter and citrus preserves; ample on entry, rounded at the edges with gentle citrus pith lending structure on the tongue; one quite notices the ripe and rounded quality on the palate; this is wholly refreshing and satisfying Sauvignon Blanc from just right down the street from its lately more popular neighbor. But one would surely be hard‑pressed to find such a high‑quality Sancerre at anywhere near this price.

Produce of 100% Sauvignon Blanc fruit from the chalky clay soils of the Touraine in the central Loire Valley nears the city of Tours itself; shimmering green/gold in color with pretty, inviting, floral Sauvignon Blanc aromas suggestive of ripe melon and a fresh cooler season garden herb like chervil (Chezelles themselves note pamplemousse and lime); vivid on the tongue but with a ripe vintage suppleness and rondeur and tantalizing interplay of minerality and fruit like fleur de sel on cool melon; all said and done, this is simply delicious Sauvignon Blanc from among its happiest of places, showing its all in the here and now and noticeably easy on the wallet, too.

Touraine is located some 2 hours to the west of Sancerre by automobile, near the city of Tours. But the grape of choice here is also the Sauvignon Blanc, by comparison with Chenin Blanc for Vouvray closer by. Shimmering yellow/gold in color, with discreet aromas suggestive of orchard fruits, kaffir lime zest and the gentlest whiff of the vine leaf itself along with wine‑moistened limestone; the palate demonstrates an almost crystalline cohesiveness, a vibrancy and nerve and a mineral‑charged persistence, with delicate flavors that echo true to the aromatic slate; Henry noted the ever‑elusive character of yumminess. Sancerre lovers take note, this one pushes all the same buttons that finer quality Sancerre might also. Perhaps even moreso.