2020 Sancerre, Blanc, Les Romains, Domaine Vacheron, Loire

Domaine Vacheron

Domaine Vacheron stands proudly as one of Sancerre's elite properties, renowned for crafting white and red Sancerre wines of remarkable purity and definition. Leading the charge in this transformation are cousins, Jean-Laurent and Jean-Dominique Vacheron, who have spearheaded the transition to biodynamic farming since 2005, earning certification from Biodyvin.

Currently tending to 34 hectares of Sauvignon Blanc and 11 hectares of Pinot Noir, the cousins have strategically acquired vines in coveted lieu-dits across the appellation, including Guigne Chèvre, En Grands Champs, Paradis, and Chambrates. Each parcel is vinified separately, allowing for nuanced blends that vary from year to year.

While Sauvignon Blanc takes centre stage, Pinot Noir is far from an afterthought; it's a focal point. Despite being just a stone's throw away from Burgundy, the cousins produce grand, expressive bottlings of Pinot Noir on their soils.

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.