Robert Cantin Les Pierblancs Sancerre 2016
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Wilfred
Wong
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
The wine should be served between 46 to 53°F. Fish and crustaceans, scallop Carpaccio, goat cheese and especially Crottin de Chavignol, a PDO cheese from Sancerre.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: Sancerre is one of the world's most classic and sought-after white wines. The 2016 Robert Cantin Les Pierblancs is a first-rate wine that deserves the attention this category is getting. TASTING NOTES: This wine is bright with beautiful ripe melon and fragrant herbs in its aromas and flavors. Its richness would be an excellent match with clam and linguine in a light red wine reduction sauce.(Tasted: April 11, 2018, San Francisco, CA)
The winery has a strict management process approach to the vineyard (organic, no herbicide, grass-growing, hoeing, ploughing, disbudding, green harvest…), hard work in the winery (wild/natural yeasts). The wines are made to reflect their appellation, while still retaining a house style, and offer superb, artisan quality at very good prices.
Capable of a vast array of styles, Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp, refreshing variety that equally reflects both terroir and varietal character. Though it can vary depending on where it is grown, a couple of commonalities always exist—namely, zesty acidity and intense aromatics. This variety is of French provenance. Somm Secret—Along with Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc is a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. That green bell pepper aroma that all three varieties share is no coincidence—it comes from a high concentration of pyrazines (herbaceous aromatic compounds) inherent to each member of the family.
Marked by its charming hilltop village in the easternmost territory of the Loire, Sancerre is famous for its racy, vivacious, citrus-dominant Sauvignon blanc. Its enormous popularity in 1970s French bistros led to its success as the go-to restaurant white around the globe in the 1980s.
While the region claims a continental climate, noted for short, hot summers and long, cold winters, variations in topography—rolling hills and steep slopes from about 600 to 1,300 feet in elevation—with great soil variations, contribute the variations in character in Sancerre Sauvignon blancs.
In the western part of the appellation, clay and limestone soils with Kimmeridgean marne, especially in Chavignol, produce powerful wines. Moving closer to the actual town of Sancerre, soils are gravel and limestone, producing especially delicate wines. Flint (silex) soils close to the village produce particularly perfumed and age-worthy wines.
About ten percent of the wines claiming the Sancerre appellation name are fresh and light red wines made from Pinot noir and to a lesser extent, rosés. While not typically exported in large amounts, they are well-made and attract a loyal French following.