Winemaker Notes
Its green gold color is bright and luminous. Its nose is quite expressive and complex. It opens beautifully on exotic fruits, green mango, citrus, honey and a hint of menthol. The mouth is powerful, round and harmonious. Refreshing and with sharp minerality, it has a long complex finish.
Sancerre Jadis, a true original, deserves an original cuisine that allies local and exotic tastes, principally fish or white meats that play with salty-sweet associations. For example, chicken breast with honey and rosemary or curry and candied oranges. Also a great pairing with goat cheese, asparagus, roasted turkey and pork chops.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2019 Sancerre Blanc Jadis comes from Kimmeridgian marls of Chavignol and opens with a clear, intense, iodine yet initially a bit oaky bouquet with ripe (passion) fruit and cassis aromas and those of crushed stones (or oysters). Fermented in oak and stainless steel, this is a full-bodied, fine and elegant yet tight and mineral-structured Sancerre with concentrated but still juicy fruit and this stimulating salinity and lemon juice from Chavignol. The 2019 Jadis pairs richness and density with purity and lingering salinity. An impressive wine that should be handled carefully.
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Wine Spectator
A concentrated white, with peach blossoms, verbena and honeysuckle layered with oyster shell minerality. Boasts brioche and a kiss of vanilla that add roundness, with pithy grapefruit and dried thyme bringing freshness on the finish. Salty and concentrated, this is a ripe, lush style with great balance. Drink now through 2030.
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James Suckling
Flinty and focused nose with pure lime, gooseberry and green apple characters. Bone-dry and stony on the palate with a linear and textured palate. Lightly saline with wet stones in the finish. Drink now.
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.