Winemaker Notes
Old vines contribute complexity to the palate. Fresh, golden citrus flavors open to candied ginger and orange marmalade on the finish.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
From 60+ year-old vines on Kimmeridgian marl soils and fermented naturally with wild yeasts in wooden vats, the 2020 "Straight Outta" Sancerre Melodie (identical with the Mélodie Vieilles Vignes) opens with a deep, ripe and complex, mineral and spicy rather than fruity bouquet whose ripe and warm fruit remains in the background and is wrapped in refreshing citrus, limestone and iodine notes. Full-bodied, fresh and focused on the palate, with concise mineral acidity and refreshing, highly stimulating polyphenols, this is an elegant, lively, complex and vivacious Sancerre that mirrors the warm vintage but also the old vines rooting deep in great, biodynamically cultivated soils. With a great, persistent finish, this is a classic Sancerre that I would love to have with shellfish such as lobster and crayfish.
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James Suckling
At once ripe and refined, this is a beautifully crafted Sancerre with delicate Amalfi-lemon fruit and a light touch at the long, elegant finish. With each sip you get more of the underplayed stony minerality. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drink now.
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: Like many of my contemporaries, Sancerre always gets my attention at a tasting, and the 2020 Vincent Gaudry Mélodie de Vieilles Vignes did that recently. TASTING NOTES: This wine rocks in its aromas and flavors with Old World spices, rusticity, damp earth, and dried herbs. Pair this with steamed mussels and linguine. (Tasted: September 6, 2022, 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.