Henri Bourgeois Sancerre d'Antan 2018
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Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker
Product Details
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Somm Note
Winemaker Notes
This wine is full of aromas such as lime, verbena but also delicate mineral nuances (flint). In mouth, fresh touch of grapefruits, almonds, hawthorn and light touch of coconuts. Its minerality gives it a great length. Concentrated, full and fine, equally excellent when young or up to 6 - 8 years aging.
Sancerre “d'Antan” is an excellent companion to fish, shellfish and white meat. Grilled lobster, turbot in a meat sauce and spit-roasted sweetbreads with a truffle sauce: a few delicacies matching perfectly this fine wine. Or tempt your guests with a vacherin cheese from Mont d'Or with dried pears!
Professional Ratings
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Wine Enthusiast
From vines grown on flint soil, this wine is tight and mineral, with a texture that is still young. Richness will open out as the wine matures further and the textures and white-fruit flavors soften. Drink from 2023.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Tasted in early March, the 2018 Sancerre d'Antan offers a deep, rich and concentrated yet pure and flinty bouquet with characteristic sur-lie aromas and a bouquet that is pretty reminiscent of a fine Burgundy. Based on up to 80+-year-old, very low-yielding vines and aged in used barrels (including two rackings), this is a full-bodied, rich and juicy Sancerre with textural salinity and a long, intense and mouth-filling finish. This is a rich and intense yet also refined and vital 2018 and one of the exciting wines of the vintage. Bottled without fining or filtration.
Other Vintages
2020-
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Enthusiast -
James
Suckling - Decanter
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Wine
Spectator - Vinous
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James
Suckling -
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Spectator
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Wine
Enthusiast -
Robert
Parker -
Wine
Spectator
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Robert
Parker
The Famille Bourgeois has been in love with Pinot Noir and Sauvignon Blanc for 11th generation. The domain covers 72 hectares on the best Terroir of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé appellations. Brought to fruition by Henri Bourgeois over 50 years ago, the vineyards lie on some of the most rugged hillside terrains, offering the best exposures in the Loire Valley. From cultivating two hectares on the slopes of Chavignol, Henri took the audacious step in the 1950s of developing his vineyards in an as yet unknown area. His sons, Jean-Marie and Rémi, joined him in the 1960s and continued the adventure. They discovered new terroirs, bought land, developed partnerships with other Sancerre families, and turned themselves into the #1 ambassador of Sancerre in France, then abroad.
Today, Arnaud, Lionel, and Jean-Christophe Bourgeois are just as much the heirs of those men as the initiators of the future of the vines and wines of the house. Though the family is forever striving to perfect their craft, they remain committed to Henri’s original viticultural vision of showcasing the purity of the Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir grapes and the unique Terroirs of Sancerre.
Famille Bourgeois has received numerous accolades over the years from press and public alike for all of their wines, ranging from their delightfully fresh & food-friendly "baby Sancerre" Petit Bourgeois wines to their age-worthy, terroir-driven Sancerre & Pouilly-Fumé cuvées.
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.