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Val de Loire · Centre-Loire · Red, white and rosé

Coteaux du Giennois — terroir, soils & grape varieties

From Gien to Cosne-sur-Loire, at the hinge between the Centre and Burgundy regions, this appellation combines sauvignon in white with an unusual mandatory gamay-pinot noir blend in red. Light, mineral wines, close neighbours of Sancerre and Pouilly.

On the Edge of the Centre and Burgundy

The vineyard stretches across fourteen communes in the Loiret and the Nièvre, from Gien to Cosne-Cours-sur-Loire, mostly on the right bank of the river. Granted AOC status in 1998, the appellation almost touches the Sancerrois and Pouillysois areas, with which it shares sauvignon, while keeping its own identity in red.

Terroir and Style

The soils, on a plateau edge, combine Cenomanian chalk, the Gien conglomerate of flint pebbles, and Kimmeridgian limestone and marl. Here sauvignon gives light, mineral and fruity whites; the reds, made from the mandatory gamay and pinot noir blend, are low in tannin, fruity and supple; the rosés are fruity with a light peppery note.

The grape varieties of Coteaux du Giennois

Sauvignon blanc →white — vivacity, minerality and fruit
Gamay & pinot noir →reds/rosés — mandatory blend of the two
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Sources: Wikipédia — Coteaux du Giennois (AOC)