Winemaker Notes
Entirely hand-harvest from 70 year old vines grown on Sancerre's great "Les Monts Damnés" which roughly transaltes to the "damned mountain". Fermented using only indigneous yeasts and no use of oak.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
A very clean, precise wine, crystalline and vibrant on the palate with a long finish showing the marked, thrilling acidity of the 2021 vintage. It still needs more time in bottle to soften but has very good ageing potential – worth 95 points in time, perhaps. This small domaine is based in Menetou-Ratel and since 2007 has been run by Anthony Girard, the third generation to do so. David, his brother, joined him in 2015. The Monts Damnés is one of three very steep vineyards that overlook the small village of Chavignol. Due to the steepness of the slopes, the Girards have to do everything by hand.
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Wine Enthusiast
A touch of wood aging has given this already rich wine layers of ripeness. White fruits and acidity are well integrated into the wine’s texture. It is full, dense and ready to drink now.
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.