2013 Sancerre Blanc, Le Chêne Marchand, Domaine Thierry Merlin-Cherrier
About this WINE
Domaine Thierry Merlin-Cherrier
Sophie and Thierry Merlin-Cherrier cultivate 13 hectares of prime location Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir in and around the commune of Bué in Sancerre.They bottle two white cuvées, a generic blend and, since 1999, a separate bottling from Le Chêne Marchand.
Le Chêne Marchand is a single gentle south facing site situated between Bué and Crézancy and is recognised as one of the potential ‘Grand Cru’ vineyards of the appellation – should the Berrichon ever take this route. The wines are aged on their lees in a single concrete tank for between 15 and 18 months, and the request to bottle a quantity in magnum signifies our belief in the wines ability to age and mature further.
The estate applies the principles of la lutte raisonée.
Sauvignon Blanc
An important white grape in Bordeaux and the Loire Valley that has now found fame in New Zealand and now Chile. It thrives on the gravelly soils of Bordeaux and is blended with Sémillon to produce fresh, dry, crisp Bordeaux Blancs, as well as more prestigious Cru Classé White Graves.
It is also blended with Sémillon, though in lower proportions, to produce the great sweet wines of Sauternes. It performs well in the Loire Valley and particularly on the well-drained chalky soils found in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, where it produces bone dry, highly aromatic, racy wines, with grassy and sometimes smoky, gunflint-like nuances.
In New Zealand, Cloudy Bay in the 1980s began producing stunning Sauvignon Blanc wines with extraordinarily intense nettly, gooseberry, and asparagus fruit, that set Marlborough firmly on the world wine map. Today many producers are rivalling Cloudy Bay in terms of quality and Sauvignon Blanc is now New Zealand`s trademark grape.
It is now grown very successfully in Chile producing wines that are almost halfway between the Loire and New Zealand in terms of fruit character. After several false starts, many South African producers are now producing very good quality, rounded fruit-driven Sauvignon Blancs.
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Description
This is poles apart from the domaine bottling, with a leesy, chenin-like nose courtesy of the extended time on lees. There is a marked richness and increased intensity here; a Sancerre for non-Sauvignon drinkers, this will reward those with the patience to cellar it for several years before drinking.
Adam Bruntlett - Buyer Really very youthful - still got those intoxicating fermentation aromas. Compelling fruit purity and lovely mineral flint character. Some blackcurrant leaf.
Jancis Robinson MW - jancisrobinson.com - Jan 2014
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