The Crochet name is deeply woven into the fabric of Bué. Across the village, domaines are led by Lucien, Dominique, and Jean-Marc & Mathieu Crochet, among others. Yet over the past two decades, François Crochet has emerged as one of Bué’s most progressive and quality-driven growers, establishing his domaine as a leading advocate for terroir-focused Sancerre.
Today, François and his wife Carine farm a mouthwatering 12 hectares of vineyards spread across over thirty parcels around Bué, Crézancy, Sancerre, and Thauvenay. Most of the Sauvignon Blanc is planted on Bué’s celebrated caillottes — pale, fractured limestone soils strewn with small chalk stones that absorb the day’s warmth and slowly release it after sunset. Elsewhere lie patches of terres blanches, denser clay-limestone marls, alongside bands of silex, the flinty soils that lend the wines a darker, smokier register.
Drawing on these distinct terroirs, François bottles many parcels separately, including Les Amoureuses, Le Grand Chemarin, Le Petit Chemarin, Le Chêne Marchand, and a flint-derived wine called Les Exils. Since 2023, the vineyards have been certified both organic and biodynamic. He also remains one of the few growers in the appellation to harvest entirely by hand. In the cellar, François has worked exclusively with indigenous yeasts since 2019, a decision that has brought greater earthy complexity and nuance to the wines.
François tends to harvest relatively early, preserving freshness without veering into the herbal austerity that can plague underripe Sancerre. One of the great benefits of Crochet’s farming is that the fruit achieves ripeness earlier than in conventionally farmed vineyards. The resulting wines possess what we might term restrained energy: denser and more textural than many contemporary examples yet always propelled by freshness and a pronounced mineral backbone.
Today, these wines stand among the most articulate expressions not merely of Bué, but of Sancerre itself — wines shaped as much by chalk and slope as by Sauvignon’s thiols, methoxypyrazines or terpenes. As specialist Loire critic Chris Kissack writes, “The proof of the pudding is in the eating (or in this case drinking) of course, and an examination of the wines of François Crochet quickly reveals that they are wines we should be excited about …”
“Crochet’s 2023s are some of the best examples of the vintage, not only showing their season but more importantly, having a real sense of place.” Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous
“In 20 years, François Crochet has established himself as one of Sancerre’s most talented winemakers.” La Revue du Vins de France
“Located in Bué, François Crochet is one of the most impressive producers in the appellation.” Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous
2024 François Crochet Sancerre
Wax seal. Sourced from vines across the three classic terroirs of Sancerre — predominantly the caillottes of Bue (chalky limestone), alongside clay-limestone and flint soils — this cuvée captures François’ fingerprint of the appellation. In any given year, it is one of Sancerre’s pace-setting wines, and even more so in 2024: due to the humidity and cold, this is a blend of all Crochet’s vineyards, including all the parcels traditionally bottled as single vineyards, except for Le Chêne Marchand.
The wine is fermented and aged on fine lees in tank for up to six months, without oak, delivering a wine trembling with finesse and delicacy. Bright, textured, and finely balanced, it delivers vibrant citrus and stone fruit aromas mingled with saline minerality and the tension characteristic of top grower Sancerre. A ‘triumph’ indeed.
“It is round, with oodles of substance and makes for a gourmand wine. The fruit is rich with pear, lemon peel, elderflower, and a touch of herbaceousness. This is harmonious and well concentrated, with finely balanced acidity and an appealing chalkiness on the flavorsome, honeyed finish. Considering the challenging vintage, this is an absolute triumph. Crochet has had to sacrifice many top sites for this blend. Was it worth it? I think so.” 92 points, Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous
2023 François Crochet Sancerre Les Amoureuses
Sancerre Blanc “Les Amoureuses” is sourced from three parcels around Bué, planted on limestone bedrock with deep clay topsoils on gentle to moderately sloping, south-facing sites between 260 and 290 metres altitude. The 30-year-old Sauvignon Blanc vines are typically harvested at low yields of 40–50 hl/ha.
Named after the vineyard’s heavy clay soils — which cling to the soles of one’s boots “as if soil and sole were in love” — Les Amoureuses is a richly textured yet finely poised expression of Sancerre. Fermented in oak foudre and aged on fine lees for nearly a year it brilliantly fuses the fleshiness of clay with the tension of chalk in the form of ripe citrus and orchard fruit with subtle creaminess, rugged tension, and chalky reverb.
“The Amoureuses cuvée smells primarily of the sea, with notes of peaches, cream, and citrus. On the palate it is super saline and utterly mouthwatering. Juicy, peachy deliciousness. Fermented and aged in large wood vats.” 93 points, Beverley Blanning MW, Decanter
2023 François Crochet Sancerre Le Grand Chemarin
Sancerre Blanc “Le Grand Chemarin” is sourced from a tiny 0.18-hectare parcel south of Bué, planted on soft Oxfordian limestone with clay topsoil on south- to southeast-facing slopes between 240 and 260 metres altitude. First bottled separately in 2014, the fruit from this site had previously been blended into the domaine cuvée.
Situated on the eastern side of the valley surrounding Bué, Grand Chemarin is considered one of the village’s totemic terroirs, famed for its chalk-rich caillottes soils and for overlooking the iconic “hut on the hill” vineyard view synonymous with Sancerre.
The wine is fermented in stainless steel before ageing in seasoned demi-muids, bringing added texture without masking the purity of the site. A wine of glorious citrus-fruit substance and great potential, this is one of François’s most textural Sancerres.
“The 2023 Le Grand Chemarin is focused and substantial. It is dense, powerful, and rich. This is an excellent single-vineyard style that shines in its intensity and sense of direction. The 2023 speaks of its place, not of its grape. I almost forgot to mention the flavors since its texture is far more important, but you can expect lemon and honey tea notes in its youth.” 92 points, Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous
2023 François Crochet Sancerre Le Chene Marchand
Sancerre Blanc “Le Chêne Marchand” comes from a historic south-facing lieu-dit on the western slopes of Bué. Planted to 45-year-old Sauvignon Blanc vines, the site sits between 245 and 265 metres altitude on classic caillottes soils — soft limestone bedrock covered with thin, rocky clay and small chalky stones that absorb and radiate heat, aiding ripening.
Widely regarded as one of Bué’s benchmark vineyards, Le Chêne Marchand has long been celebrated for the quality of both its white and red wines. François Crochet considers it an early-ripening site capable of producing wines of both generosity and precision. The grapes are hand-harvested and rigorously sorted before whole-cluster pressing, natural fermentation in stainless steel, and ageing on lees in a combination of steel, old tronconic oak vats, and egg-shaped vessels.
“The 2023 Le Chêne Marchand is a full, mouth-filling style with excellent texture and line. Despite its expansive, ripe nature, this is not heavy. One of the first sites picked by Crochet, it displays an intensely chalky texture. That chalkiness is joined by appetizing flavors of lemon balm and a hint of herbaceousness. It is impeccably balanced, with satisfying, sinewy tension. This is so far removed from the average Sauvignon Blanc.” 95 points, Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous
2023 François Crochet Sancerre Exils
Marked by its pronounced dark minerality, “Les Exils” takes its name from an anagram of silex — flint — the defining soil of this bottling. Located in Thauvenay on the southern edge of the appellation, the parcel sits on steep east-facing slopes between 230 and 260 metres altitude, overlooking the Loire River. The vineyard is entirely covered in flint stones, with extremely rocky soils containing very little clay.
Isolated from the domaine’s other vineyards and bordering forest land, Les Exils delivers one of François Crochet’s most soil-driven expressions. The vines are farmed at low yields of 35–45 hl/ha, producing a layered, steely wine, vivid and long, with more of that smoke flecked orchard fruit and a kind of stone-inflected austerity.
“This distinctive wine has weight, power, minerality, and a personality that hits you with full force. It is ripe, smoky, and mineral, with high acidity and fruit sweetness. Vinified and matured in old oak with fine lees. Pure pleasure.” 95 points, Beverley Blanning MW, Decanter