Winemaker Notes
La Louisonne is an exceptionally steep 1.5-hectare vineyard in the far north of Bué, with well-draining soils of distinctive blue clay riddled with pebbles, and with the limestone bedrock lurking very close to the surface. To best express this unique site’s character, Crochet employed a more oxygen-friendly aging process than with their super-sleek stainless-steel-raised classic trio, and the 2023 harvest’s 23 hectoliters of wine spent a lengthy 18 months in a combination of two-thirds terracotta amphora and one-third steel. “La Louisonne,” however, does not feel pointedly experimental; cut clearly from the same cloth as their classic trio, it offers a broader yet no less powerful sense of minerality, a more brazen salinity, and a texture at once enveloping and clinging. As with all their wines, this cuvée was farmed organically (the domaine has been practicing fully organic viticulture since 1989) and harvested manually—still an exceptionally rare practice in the Sancerre appellation.
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.