Winemaker Notes
Remarkably aromatic with pretty white flower and fruit fragrances. On the palate it reveals a freshness that is pure and clean. Notes of citrus, apple and gooseberry with hints of passion fruit are found in this lively and bright wine. An incredible value.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
This wine combines floral and mineral elements into an elegant, seamless whole. Meadow breeze and white-peach aromas lift from the glass bolstered by a handful of freshly cut herbs and lilac. The palate is stony in texture with a rounded salinity that propels the finish along with dried lemon shavings.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
The 2024 Grand Fossil Sancerre shows a medium straw-yellow hue and opens with aromas of savory herbs and sun-dried stones. On the palate, it is bright and refreshing, offering notes of mint, dried herbs, and a clean mineral edge. This vibrant Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc pairs beautifully with goat cheese crostini and a fresh herb salad, a classic regional match that highlights the wine’s zesty acidity and stony elegance. (Tasted: November 2, 2025, San Francisco, CA)
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.