Domaine Denizot
Appellation: Sancerre & Pouilly-Fumé
Proprietor: Thibauld & Jennifer Denizot
Size: 20.5 hectares
Farming Practice: Organic
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The Denizots of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé
We first heard about Domaine Denizot through Dominique Roger of Domaine du Carrou in Bué. “There are only a handful of truly serious, excellent young producers,” he said. “They’re among the very best.”
We soon paid them a visit, and it didn’t take long to recognize the family’s deep-rooted commitment to both quality and sustainability. Over the years, they’ve built a reputation in the region that speaks as much to their respect for tradition as to their willingness to push boundaries.
Thibauld Denizot, who studied at the Académie Viticulteur in Beaune, now runs the estate with his wife, Jennifer—a firecracker of a counterpart to his more reserved introspection. Together, they represent the sixth generation of a family that has long shaped the region’s vineyards.
While the cellar is based in Verdigny, the family’s ancestral roots lie in Amigny, which is why 65% of their Sancerre parcels are located there. The remainder is spread across Verdigny, Chavignol, Sancerre, and two small plots in Pouilly-Fumé.
The majority of their Sancerre vines (90%) grow on Caillottes—stony, limestone-rich soils. This includes prized plots such as Les Bouffants in Chavignol and Côte de l’Épée in Amigny. The remaining 10% are rooted in Terres Blanches, a Kimmeridgian marl that lends structure and depth.
The range of wines reflects this diverse terroir, each bottle offering a subtle expression of site and soil.
Among the core cuvées is Ozmoze Blanc, a densely structured yet focused Sauvignon Blanc sourced from parcels in Amigny, Chavignol, Sancerre, and Verdigny. After hand-harvesting and meticulous sorting, the grapes are gently pressed. Fermentation with indigenous yeasts takes place in concrete and stainless steel, followed by 12 months on fine lees—adding texture and complexity.
Damoclès Côte de l’Épée comes from a steep, southeast-facing slope in Amigny. Its crystalline purity and precise minerality highlight the austerity and uniqueness of its rocky soils. From Verdigny, Les Bouffants blends two sections: one high on a gentle slope of Caillottes, the other below on unforgiving terrain scattered with Griottes—small, hard stones. The result is a wine of deep structure, rich texture, and remarkable aging potential.
The estate also produces Biorga, a Pinot Noir from 60-year-old vines in Les Beaux Regards, Verdigny—capturing the rarely seen potential of Sancerre Rouge. Fermented in tank and aged in 228-liter barrels, it reveals a pure, elegant expression of Pinot Noir shaped by clay-limestone soils.
In October 2019, Thibauld and Jennifer acquired 2.2 hectares in Pouilly-Fumé—land from his maternal grandparents’ estate, founded in 1960. When the previous generation retired, a family agreement allowed the couple to purchase the vineyards and hand-select the finest parcels for future production. It was both a gift and a challenge—an opportunity to continue a legacy in this part of the Loire.
These Pouilly-Fumé vineyards lie on Silex soils at the Butte de Saint Andelain and on Terres Blanches in the village of Boisfleury. The resulting wines are charged with vibrant aromatics, textured richness, and a sharp, flinty minerality that speaks clearly of their origins.
Denizot is an estate on the rise, one to watch closely.
Wines:
Varietal/Blend: Sauvignon
Vineyard Area: From vines in Amigny, Chavignol, Sancerre and Verdigny
Soil: Caillotes
Exposure: South, southeast
Vine Training Method: Guyot
Vinification: Grapes are hand-harvested and gently pressed pneumatically. The juice moves freely by gravity to a combination of concrete and stainless steel for fermentation and aging on the fine lees.
Maturation: One year with a gentle filtration before bottling
Marketing Materials:
Varietal/Blend: Sauvignon
Vineyard Area: From famous hillside (with 40% incline) located in Amigny called Côte de l'Épée.
Soil: Caillotes (Oxfordian rocky limestone)
Elevation: 250 meters
Exposure: Southeast
Vine Training Method: Guyot poussard
Vinification: Grapes are hand-harvested and gently pressed pneumatically. The juice moves freely by gravity to 600-liter demi-muids and 350-liter cigares (both from Atelier Centre France) where the wine ages on the lees.
Maturation: Minimum one year in barrels before racking to stainless steel before for six months prior to bottling.
Marketing Materials:
Varietal/Blend: Sauvignon
Vineyard Area: Les Bouffants is a steep limestone hillside in Chavignol (touching Les Mont Damnés) Denizot's holding is divided into two parts. The first (Haut de Bouffants makes 75% of the holding) is situated on the top of the hillside with very stony Caillotes soils (larger stones). The terrain is easier to work here. The second part (Pente de Bouffants for 25% of the plot) is a steep slope of finer, softer limestone called Griottes (many smaller stones). Here, ripening is faster, with golden grapes despite lower yields.
Soil: Caillotes and Griottes
Elevation: 250 meters
Exposure: South
Vine Training Method: Guyot poissard
Vinification: Grapes are hand-harvested and gently pressed pneumatically. The juice moves freely by gravity to 600-liter demi-muids and 350-liter cigares (both from Atelier Centre France) where the wine ages on the lees.
Maturation: Minimum one year in barrels before racking to stainless steel before for six months prior to bottling.
Marketing Materials:
Varietal/Blend: Sauvignon
Vineyard Area: From a mix of terroirs from the village of Boisfleury (.9 hectares) and the village of Saint Andelain (1 hectares)—vines are between 35 and 55 years old.
Soil: Dense limestone on the Boisfleury plot with Silex on the Saint Andelain hilltop.
Elevation: 220-260 meters
Exposure: South-southeast
Vinification: Hand-harvested. Long and gentle pneumatic pressing. Careful handling of juices without rushing the musts (by gravity and slow and gentle pumping). Fermentation with native yeast in concrete and stainless steel vats. Aging on the lees.
Maturation: One year in concrete vat (fined and unfiltered)
Marketing Materials:
Varietal/Blend: Pinot Noir
Vineyard Area: From 60-year-old vines in Les Beaux Regards in Verdigny
Soil: Caillotes over clay-limestone
Elevation: 240 meters
Exposure: Southeast
Vine Training Method: Guyot poissard
Vinification: From the moment the grapes arrive in the cellar, they are handled gently and with respect for the fruit. The grapes are protected with dry ice as soon as they are placed in vats to prevent oxidation of the juice and to control the temperature of the harvest. Cold maceration for more or less 7 days, depending on the vintage profile. Natural fermentation using indigenous yeasts over a two-week period. The number of pump-overs and punch-downs is dictated by the vintage profile and daily tasting of the juice obtained. The free-run juice is then racked into 228-liter barrels (1/3 of two previous wines, 1/3 one previous wine, 1/3 new wood) from different coopers. Malolactic conversion in barrels.
Maturation: Minimum one year in barrels before racking to stainless steel for six months before bottling.
Varietal/Blend: Pinot Noir
Vineyard Area: From vines in the villages of Verdigny and Sancerre.
Soil: Limestone pebbles ("caillotes") in Sancerre and Kimmeridgian marl ("terres blanches") in Verdigny.
Exposure: Varying southern exposures
Vinification: The grapes are harvested by hand and then carefully handled and placed onto a conveyor belt where they're brought up and into an open-top concrete tank. The tank contains dry ice to protect the grapes from oxidation. Cold maceration lasts for more or less 7 days depending on the profile of the vintage and natural fermentation using native yeasts lasts for about two weeks. The number of pumpovers and punchdowns is dictated by the profile of the vintage as well as daily tasting of juices obtained by (mostly) pumpovers. Once all sugars are broken down into alcohol, the free-run juice and press juice are racked to concrete and blended.
Maturation: One year dictated by the completion of malolactic fermentation which occurs naturally
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