Sancerre
 
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It’s a fluke of history that Sancerre became synonymous with Sauvignon Blanc. The town was best known for its light red wines made from Gamay and Pinot Noir. After phylloxera swept through the Loire Valley, it was Sauvignon Blanc that took most readily to grafting in the village. Soon wine lovers became enamored with the mineral-drenched and highly perfumed white.
 
The terroir has a palpable impact on the wines, giving these whites their bright acidity, gooseberry-laced perfume, and chalky and stony minerality. The soils here are mostly Kimmeridgian chalk, the same found in the surprisingly close-by region of Chablis. There are pockets, too, of silex (flint) soils. Though the village of Pouilly-Fumé is better known for these soils, the silex imparts a distinctive smoky gunflint aroma to some Sancerre wines, too.

Gulfi
 
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Gulfi first came to prominence as a champion of Nero d’Avola—the rich dark grape that they proved could be a transparent expression of terroir. The single vineyard bottlings that Gulfi made changed perceptions of the grape and has helped lead to the current renaissance of Sicilian viticulture. These are wines that are intense, powerful, yet graceful.
 
Vito Catania founded the estate in 1996, a native of Sicily and descendant of the family that has produced wine and olive oil in the region for generations. His focus was on traditional growing methods that have been in place since Roman times: non-irrigation, dense planting, and head-pruned bush-vines. Today, Gulfi is run by his son, Matteo Catania. He follows in his father’s footsteps, having worked for the domaine for over 20 years when he took over at his father’s passing in 2017.

La Gerla
 
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La Gerla makes fantastic and approachable Brunello in a traditional style. The wines always have a striking purity of fruit and elegant structures, without the new oak flavors common to many modernist Brunellos. The lineup offers a range of expressions thanks to differing terroirs and aging regimes.
 
Their fantastic success can in part be credited to their estate, which they purchased in 1976 from the Biondi Santi family. Their original vineyard, Gli Angeli, includes plantings by the famous previous owners. It rests high in the hills of the Canalicchio zone, just north of the village of Montalcino, yet is in an isolated pocket that shields the vines from adverse weather. The Angeli Riserva comes entirely from a one-hectare parcel of old vines within this vineyard.