Winemaker Notes
The ‘Silex’ terroir produces the most sought-after Sancerre thanks to their elegance and their intense minerality. Located alongside the Loire river, it is a very ‘early-ripening’ soil. The flint stones accumulate heat from the sun during the day and radiate at night which accelerate the maturity of the grapes.
Professional Ratings
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2022 Fournier Père & Fils Sancerre Blanc Silex is impressive and expansive. This wine excels with aromas and flavors of exotic spices, mineral notes, and ripe citrus. Enjoy this with ginger and onion crab. (Tasted: November 20, 2024, San Francisco, CA)
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Wine Spectator
Grassy and herbal, this solid white leads with pungent, fresh greenness that melds into Granny Smith apple and gooseberry notes. A firming mineral layer provides a ballast for the weight. For fans of the racy, herbaceous style, this offers an example that demonstrates power, too. Smoke, salt and mineral elements line the savory, lingering finish. Drink now through 2028. 650 cases made, 200 cases imported.
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.