Domaine Roc de l’Abbaye
Sancerre & Pouilly-Fumé
Domaine Roc de l'Abbaye 
‘Roc de l’Abbaye represents the quintessence of the Silex terroir’
The Domaine
The Domaine Roc de l’Abbaye is located at the foot of the ‘Clos du Roc’ parcel in Saint- Satur.
The Village of Saint-Satur is located on the banks of the Loire River (East side of the Sancerre appellation) and at the foot of the Colline de Sancerre. Gateway to the Sancerre appellation and to Burgundy on the other side of the river, Saint-Satur enjoys a privileged geographical position within the appellation. Located on the main road, at the heart of the Village, you will walk right in front of the Estate when crossing the appellation from East to West.
History
846
Saint Satur is a Christian martyr who died in Carthage in 203. The Archbishop of Bourges, Raoul de Turenne, transferred the relics of Saint Satur to Saint Pierre’s church in the village of Gordon. The village will henceforth bear the name of Saint-Satur.
1034
The Countess Mathilde, Lord of the village, established the Abbey of Saint-Satur, to accommodate regular canon of Augustinians
1450
It is the end of the 100 Years’ War. 30 years after having been destroyed by the English, the Abbey of Saint-Satur founds Domaine du Clos du Roc, 4 hectares of flint (Silex) terroir, facing full South, which is considered as the cradle of the Sancerre appellation. Seven years earlier, Nicolas Rollin and Guigone de Salins created the Hospices de Beaune in Burgundy. In 1463, François Villon, famous French medieval poet, came to the Abbey of Saint-Satur and drank wine from the Clos du Roc vines.
1722
In the winemaking hamlet of Boisgibault, in Tracy-sur-Loire in the Pouilly-Fumé appellation, a winemaker and Countryside warden, André Mollet, was already harvesting Blanc Fumé (former name of Sauvignon Blanc) and Chasselas.
1900
At the end of the 19th century, Phylloxera destroyed most French vineyards. A winemaker and railway employee, Alexandre Mollet, replanted the family estate in Tracy-sur-Loire and became the mayor of the village (1908-1920).
1946
On his return from Germany, where he was held prisoner, Paul Mollet, Florian’s paternal grandfather, founded with other winegrowers of the Pouilly-Fumé appellation, the Cave Coopérative de Pouilly-sur-Loire. He remained its director until 1970 while continuing to run the family estate. Paul Mollet was the mayor of Tracy-sur-Loire from 1971 to 1977.
1954
Pierre Maudry, Florian’s maternal grandfather, replanted the four hectares of Clos du Roc in Saint-Satur village.
1973
Paul’s son, Jean-Paul Mollet, married Rose-Marie Maudry (daughter of Pierre Maudry). They brought their 2 family estates together under the name Domaine du Clos du Roc.
2000
Florian, Jean-Paul’s son, started managing the family’s estate and continuing his father’s hard work. Credited for his talent in winemaking, Florian built a modern cellar next to the Clos du Roc parcel and successfully enlarged the family estate up to 17ha. Thanks to his expertise in France and abroad (Australia, South-Africa…) combined with his profound knowledge of flint (Silex) terroir, his wines have become the reference for epicureans in search for freshness, chiselled minerality, and refined aromas.
2020
Until today, Saint-Satur is famous for its ancient Abbey and its flint terroir on the hillsides bordering the Loire river. Domaine Roc de l’Abbaye, managed by the Mollet family, continues to cultivate the iconic ‘Clos du Roc’ parcel as well as some finest examples of flint (Silex) terroirs of the region.
Our terroirs
The Domaine Roc de l’Abbaye is one of the rare Sancerre estates with all of its parcels planted on the flint (Silex) Terroir. This represents only 15% of the vineyards of Sancerre. It is the most sought-after terroir because it produces wines with a ‘taut’ profile, with ‘gunflint’ aromas, a strong ‘minerality’ combined with finesse and power.
A bit of geology…
Our cellar is located a few hundred meters East of the ‘Sancerre fault’ which is a major geological event occurred some 360MYA at the end of the Devonian and at the beginning of the Carboniferous (Paleozoic Era).
It is the result of a major tectonic event that crossed France following a North-South axis by which the land moved away, creating pits and depressions. This explains the structure of the Loire area. Geologists estimate that the Sancerre fault has a vertical displacement of 100-150 meters and extends to the Massif Central (a highland region in the middle of Southern France).
The Sancerre fault is also at the origin of the alignment of the hills of Sancerre, St-Satur and the Orme aux Loups. The peaks and slopes of our flint clay hills are more recent, only 50 to 30MYA. They have at their upper part a conglomerate of white siliceous cement containing flint. The Western slopes of the hills have white or grey flint, sometimes black, as we find at the Roc de l’Abbaye.
‘The flint terroir gives a unique personality to the wines of the estate.’
Our vineyards
Our 11.5ha vineyard in the Sancerre appellation is made up of 12 parcels (see the interactive map below) spread over 5 towns ; Bannay, Ménétréol, Saint-Satur, Sancerre and Thauvenay with a flint terroir. The vineyard is planted with Sauvignon Blanc on 10ha and with Pinot Noir on 1.5ha.
The plot of parcels with Pouilly-Fumé is located near the wine-growing hamlet of Boisgibault (which is part of Tracy sur Loire) where the Mollet family comes from. The entire vineyard of 6ha is planted with Sauvignon Blanc grapes.
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Track our parcels in Sancerre & Pouilly-sur-Loire
Move your mouse over the interactive map
- Clos du Roc
- Les portes du Clos
- Les Royeux
- Le Chailoux Tue Chien
- Les belles fontaines
- Les Seraux
- Le Thou
- Les Varennes
- Le Fourneau
- Les Cris
- Les Beltins
- Volton
- LES RENARDIERES
- LE CHAMP GORDÉ
- LE CHAMP DE LOPIN
- LES TRAVERS DES PLANTES
- LES MARDRELLES
The ‘curetage’
Curetage is a curative practice for vines showing wood disease symptoms. It involves removing the tinder woods (yellow & soft woods) with a small saw, so that the affected vines can survive and continue to grow in the following years.
On average ~6000 vines of Clos du Roc are cured every year and this practice allows us to ensure the sustainability of our old vines.
Our cellar
Passionate about viticulture and winemaking, Florian with the help of his parents Jean-Paul and Marie-Rose undertook the construction of a modern cellar on the historic site of the Domaine Roc de l’Abbaye at the heart of Saint-Satur in 2000.
Made of multiple small stainless-steel tanks in order to vinify each parcel separately, it became a functional cellar which allows the best of each parcel to be revealed.
The best cuvées marketed as the ANTIQUE range, as well as our cuvée Parcellaire, our single vineyard wines Roc de L’Abbaye, are aged in barrels of 228 litres in vaulted cellars built in the 17th century.
Our wines
Discover our range of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé wines. We offer the cuvée PARCELLAIRE with its legendary finesse, our cuvées ANTIQUES which are more concentrated and intense, and our cuvées TRADITIONS which reveal the purity of the Silex terroir. Our estate wines are expanded by a selection of Loire appellation wines vinified by Florian for your ultimate joy!
Single-Vineyard cuvée
Discover the full range and our wines along the Loire River
Awards & Accolades
Find the list of articles and awards won by the Domaine throughout the years.
| Dated | Cuvée | Millesime | Awards | Accolades | Find out more |
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| September 21 | Sancerre White | 2020 |
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| August 21 | Sancerre White | 2020 |  |
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| July 21 | Antique Sancerre Rouge | 2019 |
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| July 21 | Sancerre – Roc de l’Abbaye | 2020 |
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| July 21 | Pouilly-Fumé | 2020 |
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| July 21 | Menetou-Salon Rouge | 2018 |
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| July 21 | Antique Sancerre White | 2019 |
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| July 21 | Antique Pouilly-Fumé | 2019 |
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| July 21 | Sancerre Rosé | 2020 |  |
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‘A beautiful salmon pink in the glass, the aromas are rich with citrus and minerals. Developing in the mouth with flavors of river rocks, limestone, and grapefruit peel, undertones of thyme and chervil blossom on the herbal finish.’ |
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| July 21 | Sancerre White | 2020 |
93/100 |
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‘With fresh waves of grapefruit juice and lime zest washing over the tongue, this invigorating wine would be great with crudités or raw seafood to cleanse the palate and leave a granitic minerality to ground the finish.’ |
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| July 21 | Sancerre White | 2019 |
92/100 |
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‘Shows a limpid hue with glittering emerald streaks and aromas of kiwi fruit flesh, white peach skin, white pepper, ruby grapefruit, sugar snap pea, and wild basil. The palate has an enticing stony quality filled out with mineral and citrus character.’ |
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| July 21 | Pouilly-Fumé | 2020 |
97/100 |
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‘Fresh cut grass, grapefruit zest, and sea spray are bright and fresh aromas from this pale yellow wine with light golden highlights. Crisp and zesty, the flavors of citrus flow over the palate with notes of limestone, dried pineapple, and fresh garden herbs.’ |
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| July 21 | Sancerre – Roc de l’Abbaye | 2019 |
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| July 21 | Menetou-Salon White | 2020 |
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| June 21 | Antique Sancerre White | 2019 |
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| April 21 | Pouilly-Fumé | 2020 |  |
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| April 21 | Pouilly-Fumé | 2020 |  |
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| June 20 | Sancerre Red | 2017 |
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This is a really pretty Sancerre rouge with cherries, plums and hints of stones. It’s medium-bodied with soft, silky tannins and a medium finish. Delicious now. |
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| June 20 | Sancerre Rosé | 2019 |
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A fruity, delicious rosé with lemon-rind and dried-strawberry aromas and flavors. It’s medium-bodied, fruity and bright. Creamy. Drink now. |
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| June 20 | Sancerre – Roc de l’Abbaye | 2018 |
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This shows pretty intensity with sliced lime and green-apple character. Vibrant acidity and intensity. It’s pretty textbook in character. Drink now. |
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| June 20 | Sancerre White | 2019 |
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Typical Sancerre with grass, lemon and light honey character to the lemon undertones. Medium-to full-bodied with steel, slate and dried lemon and fennel seed. Drink now. |
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| June 20 | Pouilly-Fumé | 2019 |
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To consult |
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Sliced apples with hints of citrus and green pears. It’s medium-bodied with an attractive core of fruit and a friendly finish. Some slate undertones to this. Drink now. |
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| June 20 | Sancerre – Roc de l’Abbaye | 2017 |
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| June 20 | Sancerre White | 2019 |
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| May 20 | Sancerre Red | 2017 | |
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Do you ever drink Sancerre rouge? I tasted this yesterday in my tasting room @jamessucklingwinecentral and I really enjoyed it. Finished the bottle with Marie at home with spicy squid and pork dish with rice. |
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| May 20 | Sancerre – Roc de l’Abbaye | 2018 |
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| May 20 | Sancerre White | 2019 |
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To consult |
| May 20 | Antique Sancerre White | 2018 |
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| March 20 | Antique Sancerre White | 2018 |
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To consult |
| June 19 | Sancerre – Roc de l’Abbaye | 2017 |
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To consult |
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Plenty of sliced green apple and honey character to this white with hints of lemon and white peach. Medium body. Flavorful finish. Drink now. |
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| June 19 | Sancerre White | 2018 |
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So much green papaya and mango character here. Medium to full body. Lots of fruit and a creamy finish. Delicious. Drink now. |
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| June 19 | Pouilly-Fumé | 2018 |
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Wonderful aromas of dried flowers to the cooked apple and some lime. Green papaya too. Medium to full body. Fruity and minerally finish. Drink now. |
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| January 00 | Sancerre White |  |
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| September 85 | Sancerre White |  |
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| September 60 | Sancerre White | |
To consult | ||