Winemaker Notes
Pale gold yellow in color with light green sheen, brilliant, lively and clear, a mature appearance. Finely expressed lemon scented honeydew, with hints of menthol, acacia then dried fruits, St George's mushrooms from meadows and iodized mineral. When opened hints of beeswax, gingerbread and menthol lemon appear. Full, fresh, rich and virile taste. An honest effect covered with mellowness well combined with acidity and halfway through it is joined by toasted nuts. The rich finish explodes in a hint of freshness accentuating the iodized mineral, Muscat and boxtree. Slight plant bitterness is mixed with long lasting quality. When older, it should change into terpenic aromas, white truffles on honeyed hazelnut background. A powerful fine wine, with dual complexity and freshness.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Sancerre Génération Dix-Neuf (XIX) is deep, complex and subtle on the nose that reveals flinty as well as yeasty and delicate phenolic notes intertwined with perfectly ripe and elegant stone fruit aromas such as mangos. Fresh, round and very elegant on the palate, this is a medium to full-bodied, minerally tensioned and elegantly textured Sancerre with fine tannins and an intense and saline finish. The only problem I have: the wine is already pretty matured.
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.