Domaine Roger Pabiot

We met Pauline Pabiot at Domaine Anne Gros, as she studied with Anne’s daughter Julie in Burgundy and the two are good friends. She is the fifth generation winemaker at Domaine Roger Pabiot in the village of Boisgibault in Tracy-sur-Loire.Since taking over in 2017, farming is now lutte raisonnée and she is making beautifully pure, bright, chiselled, characterful wines.

The estate was established in the late 19th century with Gustave and then his son, Roger. Together they gradually built up the estate and were joined by Roger’s two sons Gérard and Bernard in 1978.

Today, the vineyard covers 22 hectares, some of which are 100 years old. Exposed on the slopes overlooking the Loire, from Girarmes to Beauregard, the vines stretch over the emblematic terroirs of the appellation: sandy terrace, flinty clay, Kimmeridgian marl and hard limestone.

Pouilly-Fumé is second only to Sancerre in being the most famous appellation for Sauvignon and located on just the other side of the river. It is often assumed the Fumé (smoke) is because the wines have a smoky character, though it is more in relation to the heavy morning fog often evident on the river, which looks like thick smoke.