For generations, the Vacherons have been the standard-bearers of Sancerre, leading the region not just through innovation, but by deep-rooted observation. What began with great-grandfather Maurice tending a few humble vines on the village road has blossomed into one of France’s most respected winemaking legacies. Jean Vacheron was the first to see the poetry in the land’s contours, crafting wines that reflected the very soil beneath his feet. His sons, Denis and Jean-Louis, refined that vision, expanding the family’s talent beyond sauvignon blanc to reveal the hidden depths of pinot noir in this cherished terroir.

Today, the next generation—Jean-Laurent and Jean-Dominique—stewards the estate with a renewed sense of purpose, carrying the torch of biodynamic farming while charting new paths through the familiar landscapes their ancestors knew by heart. Their philosophy is simple but profound: nature speaks, and the winemaker’s task is to listen. The vineyards, planted and replanted by family hands over generations, are cultivated without synthetic interference, fertilized only by organic compost. Biodynamic rhythms guide both the vineyard and the cellar, where each vintage follows the phases of the moon, creating wines that are at once vibrant and timeless.

Le Pavé comes from 30-year-old sauvignon blanc vines on a five acre east-facing vineyard on marl. The grapes are carefully hand harvested before fermenting with indigenous yeasts in large upright oak fermentation tanks. The wine is racked and then ages for one year in 3600 liter wooden tanks. This is perennially one of Vacheron’s most impressive wines—a wine of great harmony and verticality. Stunning heights of flint and linden and green apple and white peaches and with a finish like a wintery forest. As good as sauvignon blanc gets.