Château Gitton Père & Fils started in 1945 when Marcel Gitton planted his first hectare in Sancerre, bottling single-site Sauvignon Blanc that put terroir first. Three generations later—led by Pascal Gitton, wife Denise, and daughter Chanel—the family works 27-33 hectares across Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé, and just 7 minutes northeast into Coteaux du Giennois, a rugged 233-hectare AOC hugging the Loire's banks. This extension of Sancerre's Kimmeridgian flint and clay-limestone grows Pinot Noir and Gamay on south-facing slopes, echoing Gevrey-Chambertin's iron-rich earth but with Loire's wild freshness. The "Taureau" (Bull) vineyard in Pougny delivers old-vine Pinot (90%+) with a dash of Gamay from deep clay-flint plunging into that Côte de Nuits twin soil.

The 2020 Rouge ferments in stainless with short skin contact from hand-picked ancient vines, rests in neutral oak, and bottles unfiltered for pure site expression (~13% ABV). Warm days and cool nights gave ripe cherry-strawberry depth plus bright tension—graphite earth, white pepper, and herbs that drink now through 2028. Gitton's 80-year Loire legacy meets Burgundy soils at fraction of the price, making "Taureau" a red Sancerre neighbor that punches like village Gevrey without the markup.

Why You'll Love It

• Gevrey soils, Loire lift: Kimmeridgian flint-clay mirrors Côte de Nuits iron, but stays lighter and brighter than Burgundy.

• 45-60 yr-old Pinot+Gamay vines yield extraordinary red fruit depth and graphite complexity at half village red price.

• 2020's ripe tension drinks stellar right now and will cellar through 2030 with grace.

How to Serve It

• Decant for 30 minutes and serve between 58-65°F in Burgundy stems

• Pairings with grilled, poached or hot-smoked salmon, Poulet Roti avec pommes frites , charcuterie, herb crusted pork tenderloin