The Verret Family have been farming grapes in the Yonne since 1750. Decimated by Phylloxera, the region’s vines totalled 40,000 hectares in 1850, today a mere 8000 are farmed. Having replanted their vines a stock at a time throughout war and recession, the Verrets began bottling their own wines in 1956 when most sold to négociants.
Today they farm 60 hectares of Grand Auxerrois and Chablis terroir. Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, Sauvignon, Gamay and César – named after early Roman settlers but actually a cross between Pinot Noir and Argant – Aligoté and Sacy are farmed too.
Soils of Portlandian, Kimmeridgian and Oxfordian calcareous soils laden with tiny Exogyra Virgula or oyster shells are all about the marls of Serein Valley. The climate is Continental, cold winters, humid spring and warm summers make for long slow ripening.
