Antoine Sanzey took over the domaine in Varrains in 1999, becoming the fifth generation to be in charge of this family-run vineyard which was founded around 1880. Before 1999, Antoine's grandparents used to take their grapes to the local wine cooperative. Within three years he had stopped working with the cooperative and was producing his own wine. Today the vineyard covers an area of 28 hectares which is spread out over Varrains and the neighbouring districts. It includes three hectares of Chenin, as well as four hectares of the wonderful Poyeux terroir. The soils are essentially siliceous limestone and clay limestone. Since 2014, the vineyard has been worked organically with indigenous yeasts used for vinification. This domaine has established itself as one of the very finest of this appellation thanks to wines which are hugely fruity, focused and fresh and have tannins of great finesse. There is a huge demand for these wines from Loire wine enthusiasts. These are must-try wines, and as far as we are concerned, Sanzey is one of the very best winemakers in this region: a real showstopper for our team.

The micro-cuvée of Saumur-Champigny La Haye Dampierre comes from a one-hectare sized plot with tuffeau stone and silt soils. The maceration process takes considerable time and ageing takes place in barrels of 3 to 6 wines. On the nose, it expresses aromas of fresh black fruit, notes of violet and licorice and on the palate it is dense, concentrated, with a beautiful freshness, an extremely silky material and very light and fine woodiness.