Central Vineyards

From a south-facing, three-hectare parcel, this superb Reuilly Blanc is more than a match for most Sancerres. Kimmeridgian clay-limestone lies beneath the surface of the vineyard, which is strafed with the eponymous pierres plates. Even in a warm vintage like 2018, this is an intensely mineral wine, with an enticing but relatively discrete bouquet, chalky texture and long, gently saline finish. Drink now to 2021.
Will Heslop, Burgundy Buying Assistant (summer 2019)

We’ve been hugely impressed by Alban Roblin since he joined our roster of suppliers in 2018. His Sancerre Blanc stands out for its pronounced floral character, which Alban attributes to the high proportion of terres blanches soil on his 12-hectare domaine. The finish, redolent of preserved lemons, is long and moreish. Drink now to 2021.
Will Heslop, Burgundy Buying Assistant (spring 2019)

The nose is classic Pouilly-Fumé, with aromas of citrus, apple and grass, as well as a beguiling smoky note. The palate is relatively rich (owing to a warm vintage) yet fresh, with a long, mineral finish. This works a treat with dishes as diverse as goats’ cheese, oysters or tomates farcies.

This wine’s subtle peachy aroma hints at 2018’s warm growing season, but brothers François and Jean-Marie upped the proportion of fruit from flinty soils to ensure this blend remains fresh and mineral on the palate. A versatile food wine, it works well with anything from asparagus risotto to Thai fish cakes. Drink now to 2022.
Will Heslop, Buying Assistant (summer 2019)

Sancerre rosé from a quality producer like David Sautereau is a delightful, versatile wine that combines complexity with a sense of insouciance. David’s 2017 is a case in point. It’s characterised by floral and red berry aromas, fine tannins and “crunchy” acidity. A natural accompaniment to salads or poached salmon, it has sufficient personality to stand up to richer dishes too, such as Moroccan lamb tagine. Drink now to 2022.
Will Heslop, Burgundy Buying Assistant (spring 2019)

La Rambarde’s bright, playful bouquet includes herbaceous, citrus and tropical-fruit notes, while the palate is fresh and tense, with a saline, mineral finish. The 17 hectares of Domaine Landrat-Guyollot cover three distinct soil types (marl, limestone and flint), all of which are represented in this complex, engaging wine, expertly blended by winemaker Sophie Guyollot. Drink now to 2021.
Will Heslop, Burgundy Buying Assistant (August 2019)

Thierry bottled his ’17 a little later than usual – in December ’18 – but this remains tightly wound, and may take a year or two to reach its apogee. For the time being, on the nose, varietal character plays second fiddle to the beguiling “marine” aromas we associate, primarily, with Chablis – just a (lime)stone’s throw away. A wine of real class and complexity, which unfurls regally in the glass, and will continue to do so in the bottle over the next five years. Drink now to 2024.
Will Heslop, Burgundy Buying Assistant (spring 2019)

The Dezat family have long been standard-bearers for Sancerre, and this wine illustrates precisely why. Ebullient yet terroir-driven, its complex bouquet combines tropical fruit with classic citrus and herbaceous aromas. The 2018 was blended from parcels on three different soil types – primarily the pebbly limestone known here as caillottes – then spent two months on its lees (in stainless steel tanks) gaining complexity and texture prior to bottling in spring 2019. Drink now to 2022.
Will Heslop, Burgundy Buying Assistant (summer 2019)

Their delicious rosé is the one wine from Domaine Chotard that’s raised exclusively in stainless steel. The aim is to capture the floral lift and red-berry crunch inherent in Pinot Noir grown on the pebbly limestone soil known here as griottes. Expect aromas of rose petals and tinned strawberries, while the palate – for all its lively acidity – is a touch weightier than expected, with ripe red fruit flavours indicative of 2018’s warm growing season. A versatile food wine, this works particularly well with grilled salmon. Drink now to 2020.
Will Heslop, Burgundy Buying Assistant (summer 2019)

Philippe Séguin is the fourth generation of winemakers at this family estate located in Pouillysur- Loire, the village located across the river from Sancerre and famous for its smoky (fumé) style of Sauvignon Blanc. This is the property’s top wine, made from their oldest vines planted on all three of the region’s soil types (marl, limestone and flint).

This is explosively aromatic with notes of grapefruit, peach and white flowers. The palate offers surprising breadth, with a rounded mouth-feel and crisp acidity. While it is enjoyable when young, the wine will develop a beguiling gun-smoke and anise character with a couple of years in bottle. Drink now to 2022.

This is an exemplary Pouilly-Fumé from the excellent 2017 vintage. Its classic, complex bouquet includes aromas of grapefruit, cut grass and crushed oyster shell. The palate is relatively broad and creamy to begin with, but tightens up nicely, with a late wave of fresh acidity making for a long, moreish finish. Drink now to 2020.
Will Heslop, Burgundy Buying Assistant (summer 2019)

Expressive and voluptuous, with aromas of orchard fruit and lemon confit, Les Boucauds is raised in a judicious combination of oak (70% of the blend) and concrete. Open and up-front it may be, but this cuvée shows remarkable persistence on the palate, culminating in the mineral “wet stone” finish characteristic of the best wines of Sancerre. Already certified organic, Stéphane began farming Les Boucauds biodynamically in 2018. Drink now to 2023.
Will Heslop, Burgundy Buying Assistant (summer 2019)

Thierry’s Chêne Marchand is one of the standout wines of the appellation. Its tropical fruit aromas speak of the vineyard’s southerly aspect, but there’s not an ounce of flab to the palate which majors on ripe white fruit, wrapped around a steely, mineral core. Raised exclusively in stainless steel, it’s a wine that needs time, both in tank – Thierry bottles it after his other whites – and in bottle. Expect it to age gracefully for up to a decade, gaining texture as well as complexity. Drink now to 2026.
Will Heslop, Burgundy Buying Assistant (summer 2019)

This cuvée was one of the highlights of my springtime trip to the Loire with Buyer Adam Bruntlett. Stéphane used to de-stem the grapes (he has 2.3 hectares of Pinot in the Noue vineyard) but found the wine too chewy, so now makes it with whole bunches, accounting for the 2017’s delightful floral and crushed strawberry aromas. The palate is light to medium-bodied, with racy acidity and supple – rather than chewy – tannins. Bravo Stéphane! Drink now to 2023.
Will Heslop, Burgundy Buying Assistant (summer 2019)

From the Domaine’s oldest vines, up to 80 years old, planted in tightly-packed soil made up of larger flints and clay. The flagship wine of the Domaine combining richness, breadth and power with minerality and freshness.

A pungent, attractively complex nose of lime citrus, hint of kerosene and resinous herbs. Mouth wateringly vibrant flowing into a mid-palate iron like grip, crushed stone and oyster shell. The wine grips the palate with a tannic fruit pith like grip. A serious wine with a long bitter sweet finish, buoyant and well balanced. 2016-2025+.
Stuart Rae, Private Account Manager

A classically pure and restrained white true to Andre Dezat’s style. It shows nuances of chalk and smoky flint on the nose and the palate has a lovely zing with leafy gooseberry and citrus fruit, moving to a pleasingly long and clean finish focussing on smoky minerality. The clement 2015 vintage has provided a reasonable full body and therefore this will be the perfect partner to meaty white fish such as Monkfish or Halibut.

‘joli’, subtle, ‘soleil et pierres’, hint of fruit under spirit, I love the way this wine grows in the mouth, such purity, the white floral fruit matched by refreshing salinity. Drinking but will keep.
David Berry Green

Just as Les Culs de Beaujeu is all about quiet velvety charm, so Les Monts Damnes is very much the crunchy one; broad, square quivering, it's perhaps Francois's most classic expression of Sancerre wine. In 2009 there's a marzipan richness about this wine, balanced by a distinctly pebble nettle character.

Francois Cotat has four plots among this large but consistently fine vineyard; a vineyard that stretches the breadth of the village's eastern escarpment, so facing west. Containing vines of approx. 30 yo, it's a wine that will grow grow, but should be drinkable from 2014/5.

The 2009 vintage was influenced by hail, draught hence an earlier smaller than average harvest, this is one of those rich sunny years where the personality of the vintage comes through stronger than that of the vineyard. Though Francois Cotat's 2009s come in at c. 15% abv they are balanced by the inherent minerality of his exceptional vineyards. (Such has been the climatic change that Francois hasn't needed to chaptalise since the 2004 vintage.)

Francois Cotat continues to make wine as his father Paul did; the domaine being born out of the split with Pascal Cotat in 1988. Francois joined the tiny but perfectly sited property in 1999, continuing to hand-harvest the fruit that is then vinified using wild yeasts aged in 80 yo oak barrels without any intervention. Francois reasons that the use of wild as opposed to selected yeasts enable his to be more digestible reflective of their origins. Neither fined nor filtered Francois continues to judicious levels of sulphur to guide the wines to full maturity. He follows the lunar cycle.
(David Berry Green)