Coteaux du Giennois AOC | Château Monty

Côteaux du Giennois AOC is an appellation created in 1998 for wines of all three colours from 14 communes (listed below) in the Loiret and Nièvre departments, in the Upper Loire, in the Central Vineyards of the Loire valley, France, and just downstream of the Pouilly-sur-Loire and Sancerre AOCs.

History: In 849, King Charles the Bald approved a gift of vineyards and houses to be given by the Bishop of Auxerre to the college church of Saint-Laurent de Cosne. In 1218 Giennois wines were purchased for the Royal court of King Charles VI in Paris. Between 1254 and 1262, the Bishop of Auxerre built a magnificent château in Cosne, with a vast cellar and its own vineyards. Numerous monasteries were established in the region, contributing to the expansion of the vineyards; examples include the Cistercian Abbaye de Roches in Myennes, and the Templar Commandery in St. Père. Early traces of the Coteaux de Giennois can be found downriver around the abbey at St-Benoît-sur-Loire, and upstream at the Abbaye de La Charité.

Soil: The vines are planted on siliceous or limestone slopes along the Loire; also ancient river terraces at Gien and extensions of the Sancerre and Pouilly geological formations. These consist chiefly of limestone to the east of the Cosne fault and siliceous soils to the west, with tertiary siliceous deposits.

Climate: Temperate with a continental influence. Average temperatures range from -1° in winter to 26°C in summer, with wide variations of temperature due to the decreasing oceanic influence. There is some risk of spring frost (1991 and 2016), but this is uncommon. Average annual rainfall is 700mm per year, with less rain traditionally falling in the south.

Viticulture: Minimum planting density: 5,700 vines per hectare. Pruning: Single guyot or cordon de royat for Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and Gamay; gobelet for Gamay.

Base yields: 65 hl/ha for whites, 55 hl/ha for reds and 63 hl/ha for rosés.

Wine production & vineyard area: 2002 7,727hl of which 2,960hl was white from 153ha (Guide Hachette des Vins 2004, p.976).

Wines

Côteaux du Giennois Blanc: 100% Sauvignon Blanc.

Côteaux du Giennois Rosé: 20-80% Gamay and 20-80% Pinot Noir.

Côteaux du Giennois Rouge: 20-80% Gamay and 20-80% Pinot Noir.