Les Salles Martin

Antoine Sanzay

Antoine Sanzay is the seventh generation of the Sanzay family to farm vines in the village of Varrains. For most of the family’s history, they sold their grapes to the local cooperative, until Antoine came along and decided to take the domaine into a new direction. He joined the domaine full time in 1999, and slowly began ending the contracts with the co-op, only producing wine from approximately 40% of the vines he owned until 2013, when he was finally able to vinify all of his fruit. Today the estate comprises 11 ha of prime sites in the limestone haven of Saumur-Champigny, including 4 ha of the famed Les Poyeux lieu-dit. Antoine has long been known as one of the great farmers in the village and has been certified organic since 2014. The cellar work is very traditional, using only indigenous yeast for the fermentations and using cement or large foudre/barrels for the elevage. The results are Cabernet Francs that show unrivaled finesse and balance. Antoine’s reputation has grown to the point where his wines are extraordinary allocated in France, and he is widely considered one of the finest growers in all of the Loire.