Located 30 kilometers northeast of Sancerre in the village of Aligny-Cosne, Maison Foucher is a “Petit Négociant” with a mission to craft classic expressions of Loire Valley appellations at exceptional values. The estate was founded in 1921 by Paul Lebrun, a cooper by trade, who developed his company servicing a clientele made up of restaurants and cafés in the Loire Valley and Paris. During the 1950s, Paul's son-in-law Raymond Foucher took the reins and then in 1985 passed the baton to his son, Jacky Foucher.
In late 2009, with the aim of raising the company's image and developing overseas business, the Foucher family brought on Jean Mounard as a new partner to pave the road ahead. Jean spent many years at the helm of a fine and rare wine brokerage business in Paris, specializing in iconic estates such as DRC, Mouton-Rothchild and Leflaive. His first order of business was to pioneer the production of small batch wines from selected plots in Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé and Saumur-Champigny, some of which are now farmed organically. Given his deep experience tasting the great wines of the world as well as his many contacts among top producers in the Loire, Jean has been able to establish strong relationships with growers and significantly elevate the quality of the wines.
The first wine in the lineup is a Touraine Sauvignon made from grapes sourced from vineyards at the frontier of Touraine and Haut Poitu. It is a succulent, zippy Sauvignon whose name "Petit Le Mont" refers to the baby sister role it plays to our perenniel favorite: Sancerre Blanc Le Mont. The grapes for both the Sancerre Blanc and Rouge are sourced from the villages of Sancerre, Chavignol (near Mont Damnés) and d'Amigny. The vines that contribute to the Chais Saint Laurent Chinon Rouge and Rosé are planted in clay-limestone parcels and sandy riverside parcels in the villages of Rivière, Beaumont-en-Véron and Savigny-en-Véron. The entire lineup offers a truly remarkable price/quality ratio and displays a balance and delineation usually found in much more expensive appellation wines. If you aren't buying and drinking these wines, you are missing out!