Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2021 Sancerre Les Denisottes is based on old vines rooting in deep Kimmeridgian terres blanches soils only 100 meters from the domaine. The widely branched root system has emancipated this Riffault "chateau wine" from vintage caprices. The nose is clear, intense and pure in its iodine and mineral-oyster expression that integrates discreet fruit hints of limes, lemons and cassis. On the palate, this is a full-bodied, intense and rich but also refined and elegant Sancerre with a long, tensile and structured finish. This is a purely mineral Sancerre with stimulating salts and generous but neither prominent nor dominant fruit. The Denisottes is a safe bet here, and it's always exciting in its high-energy performance paired with purity and finesse. Highly recommended. Biodynamic. 13% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted in March 2023. Best After 2023
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Vinous
The 2021 Les Denisottes is a firm style with crunchy acidity piercing the wine's body. It has taken on roundness from aging in large barrels for more than a year and having some batonnage to build body around its rod of acidity. The 2021 is assertive, with nettle and gooseberry lingering on the medium-length finish.
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.