This tiny 6.5 hectare domaine in the Loire was started by Emile Balland in 1999. The Ballands have been making wines in the Loire since 1650 and his father was instrumental in achieving recognition for the young AOC Coteaux du Giennois in the 1980s. Emile has just one hectare of Sancerre and his cuvée Croq’Caillotte comes from the steep, south facing slopes of the Amigny area of Sancerre and is one of those rare wines that hugely over-deliver on quality. The Beaux Jours blanc is produced from vineyards on the slopes of the Loire river at Bonny and Beaulieu and is a complex wine with leesy character and great finesse.