Winemaker Notes
La Demoiselle, a cuvee from a deep flinty clay terroir on the peak of Sancerre, in the heart of the appellation, is a 100% Sauvignon white wine. With its saline flavors on a background of pink grapefruit, it is a combination of pleasurable contrasts. Its refreshing crystalline palate is set off by subtle oaky notes and has more than a hint of gunflint. La Demoiselle will reveal its full depth and richness with the passage of time and be at its very best after several years of aging. It pairs well with hot oysters, blanquette of veal, sauteed turkey with sweet paprika, or a lightly warmed tarte tatin.
Professional Ratings
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Vinous
The 2022 La Demoiselle is a vineyard that faces northeast, so it's a cooler wine, which creates a firm, crackling style with notes of oak-derived toast joining the firm fruit. It's clean, pure and flinty. Concentrated and punchy, you'll need to like acidity if you want this. It won't suit everyone's palates, but if you like a bit of power and grip in your Sancerre, you're in the right place.
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.