Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Sancerre Les Chasseignes opens with an excitingly pure, mineral and coolish (limestone) nose with mocha and very fine phenolic aromas reminiscent of gooseberries. Predominantly sourced in the upper part of the limestone lieu-dit where Riffault holds 7.5 well-ventilated acres, the wine opens with a pure and rocky bouquet of iodine, dashes of lemon juice and hints of mocha. Aged in large barrels of 2,000 liters (and some smaller barrels) for 14 months, this is a full-bodied, pure, fresh and saline Sancerre with intensity, fine and mealy tannin grip and lively mineral acidity that carries the wine to a quite long, pure and naked finish with lots of mineral tension, grip, lime zest and iodine flavors. This is not really austere (too juicy) but a kind of wine with thrills and tension as well as energy. Biodynamic farming. 13% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted in March 2023. Best After 2023
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Vinous
The 2021 Les Chasseignes is elegant, supple and shows excellent clarity. It highlights citrus and elderflower notes with a trace of nuttiness from long lees aging. The 2021 displays delightful tension and is finely poised with a long thread of acidity, pulling the wine through to its long conclusion.
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.