Around 300 cases made, depending on the vintage. Broad, complex, and more serious than any Sancerre at this price has a right to be — Kimmeridgian clay on a steep southeast-facing hillside giving Sauvignon Blanc amplitude and depth, with citrus, stone fruit, a chalky mineral spine, and a toasted, spicy dimension from 12 months on fine lees in barrel that adds texture without ever obscuring the terroir. Les Monts Damnés is the most celebrated lieu-dit in all of Sancerre — a dramatically steep slope above Chavignol where the fossils of ancient oysters run through the white clay soils, farming practices that exclude herbicides and plant cover crops between every row. Franck Bailly and his nephew Aurélien are the current generation of a family that has farmed Chavignol since the turn of the last century — and this is the wine that shows why the hill is damned in name only. Drink now through 2028.
