Pascal Jolivet - Sancerre & Pouilly-Fumé

One of the most well respected estates in the Loire Valley, Pascal Jolivet established the domaine in 1987 after a spell at Champagne Pommery. At the outset, with no vineyards of his own, he worked on building relationships with some of the region's top growers, constructing a new cellar, and refining his particular style of wines.

In 1993, Pascal acquired a beautiful six-hectare vineyard from his cousins, located in the prestigious terroirs of Bué en Sancerre: Le Chêne Marchand, Le Grand Chemarin, and La Plante des Prés. By 1995, he had also secured his first Pouilly-Fumé vineyard, spanning 6.5 hectares in Tracy-sur-Loire.

Today, the domaine encompasses over 120 hectares of vineyards across the Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé appellations, with an additional 60 hectares in Touraine.

Over the years, Pascal has cultivated a distinctive, pure, and elegant style of wines. He practices biodynamic winemaking, viewing the farm as a cohesive, interconnected living system. This approach extends from the vineyard to the careful handling of the fruit in the winery. Following the harvest, vinification begins with light must settling and juice fermentation with indigenous yeasts. Maturation on lees is fundamental to the concentration and complexity of all Jolivet wines. The process is natural, with slow fermentations that nourish and sustainably stabilise the wines using minimal sulphur.

In 2013, Valentina Buoso, a young and dynamic winemaker, succeeded Jean-Luc Soty, who had worked with Pascal for 22 years. Pascal shares his philosophy with Valentina: to work in harmony with nature, producing wines with purity of fruit, linear character, and minerality, allowing the vineyard's natural expression to give the wines a true sense of place.