The "white terroir" of Sancerre
Dear wine lovers,
Driving to Sancerre* from the East is a real terroir lesson. Suddenly, the flat road becomes hilly and the soil changes from brown to white. Welcome to the beautiful villages of "Sancerrois" !
Sancerre appellation is actually composed of several villages like Bué, Verdigny, Créancy-en-Sancerre... all of them with a lot of charm and very welcoming.
Even if France has a tradition of blending grapes, the truth is that some exceptions are confirming the rule.
In Sancerre, the solo grape Sauvignon is surely where this variety expresses itself best, between aroma and depth.
The other day, when I asked my kids to put their nose in my wine glass to tell me what they smelled, they both said kiwi and green apple aromas. This is to show how obvious the flavors are.
Domaine du Carrou, Domaine de la Rossignole or the famous Alphonse Mellot are some serious references and all the latest millésimes** are pretty good, even if the 2003 is sometimes over-matured.
Marry this wine with oysters, shrimp, and an apricot tart and you will understand what “Sincere Sancerre” means.
Cheers,
Jean-Marc Espinasse
Any comments, edits are very welcome at [email protected]
*Listen to "Sancerre" : Download Sancerre.wav
**Millésime = Vintage
To see Sancerre on a French wine map (NB : enlarge it when open) : Download Sancerre.jpg
