The tasting room of Thomas-Labaille in Chavignol.

Elizabeth and I took advantage of a perfect autumn Sunday and walked to the AOC's most famous vineyard, the Monts Damnés in Chavignol. We arrived in the village after a four-kilometer walk from Sancerre and happily discovered the tasting room of Domaine Thomas-Labaille, which was not only open but staffed by Jean-Paul Labaille himself. A quondam postal worker, Jean-Paul is now an accomplished vigneron of some wonderful and classically-styled Sancerres, including the rich and opulent Monts Damnés bottling. Older barrique and well-used concrete vats hint at the more traditional approach of his father-in-law, Claude Thomas, alongside whom Jean-Paul worked for 10 vintages, timing his vacations to coincide with the harvest.

Bottles of Roger Neveu shown with the three main soils found in the region: Terres Blanches, Les Caillottes, and Silex.

Another impromptu tasting adventure led us to Roger Neveu et Fils in Verdigny, whose "Clos des Bouffants" I had carried on the list at NoMI in Chicago. The lieu-dit of les Bouffants cannot be missed as one travels from Sancerre to Chavignol on the D183, with its south-facing façade being a solid block of vineyard until the hillside dips into another vineyard appropriately named Les Vallées. From there, the impressive Monts Damnés rises to engulf the tiny village of Chavignol. Neveu's wines contrast significantly in style from those of Labaille's, aged in stainless steel for a fresher, zestier expression of Sauvignon. I was surprised to learn that there is no actual clos in the Bouffants vineyard, making the "Clos des Bouffants" more of a brand name for the Neveu winery.

Jean-Marie Bourgeois holds a prized bottle from the "PMG" cellar.

Jean-Marie Bourgeois showed us around their ultra-modern cellar in Chavignol, equipped with an impressive arsenal of wine-making gadgetry and computer automation. What is remarkable here is the excellent quality achieved for such an astonishing number of wines. Henri Bourgeois makes a lot of different wines, and one wonders if it is really necessary for this Sancerre icon to produce wines from places as far flung as Bourgeuil (or New Zealand for that matter). But their Sancerre "Jadis," from a fifty-year-old parcel on Kimmeridgian, and the sixty-five-year old silex-based Sancerre "d'Atan" both have earned their place as benchmarks for the region.