Winemaker Notes
Aromatic ripeness without high alcohol. Massive mineral concentration that will yield over time and marry perfectly with the high-toned fruit components and barrel and bottle complexity that seem in perfect harmony. The most young and backward of the bunch (as usual), this wine has massive acidity that provides the perfect balance to the mineral profile that is so prevalent in the mouth. No shortage of fruit, but for the time being, this wine is all about structure and potential. Sit back and marvel at what the years have in store for this wine, and make sure you save some.
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
From almost 4 ha of flint-scattered clays around the mound of St Andelain, this is light gold in colour with a fine-meshed weave of green plant and soft spring leaf scents, full of copse coolness. In the mouth, it’s a seamless pool or well of those same green plant and leaf notes fleshed out with quiet green orchard and citrus fruits. As ever, a remarkably unshowy, undemonstrative, stealthy wine, despite its fame and the reputed showiness of the variety: all is held in check by those clinging, cossetting cool clays. Give it time in decanter, glass or mouth and you’ll see figures and allusions quietly stirring.
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.
Famous in the Loire and throughout the world for perfumed Sauvignon blanc, Pouilly-Fume sits due east, across the Loire River from Sancerre. Limestone soils with clay and flint (also called silex) contribute to the wines' freshness and often times smoky, flinty, mineral character.