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2020 Sancerre Rouge
Daniel Chotard

Lovely Pinot Noir fruit, dark purple color, fully versatile, and ready to drink now.
—Chris Santini
Wine Type: | red |
Vintage: | 2020 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Pinot Noir |
Appellation: | Sancerre |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | Daniel Chotard |
Winemaker: | Simon Chotard |
Vineyard: | Vines between 20 and 55 years old, .6 ha |
Soil: | Clay, Limestone, Kimmeridgian marl |
Aging: | Wine ages both in stainless steel (70%) and fûts (30% new, 300 to 500 liter barrels) |
Farming: | Lutte Raisonnée |
Alcohol: | 14% |
More from this Producer or Region

2021 Sancerre Rouge
France | Loire
Chotard has crafted a delicious, complex, and elegant rouge that gives many village Burgundies a run for their money.

2020 Sancerre Rouge “Le Chant de l’Archet”
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The Chotards are some of the lucky few who have Sancerre parcels that are ideal for growing Pinot Noir, and theirs have been planted to Pinot for well over fifty years, so the vines are at full maturity.

2021 Sancerre “Les Coutones”
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A fleshy, full-bodied Sancerre with great freshness and the ability to age in bottle for a few years after release.

2022 Sancerre
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An intense exotic nose lures you in before the minerality channels the lightning energy of this pure Sauvignon Blanc.

2020 Saumur Champigny “Outre Terre”
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Outre Terre is a tiny production of Cabernet Franc fermented in amphora and aged in barrel.

2022 Sancerre Rosé “Le Colombier”
France | Loire
Pale in color with a wonderful delicacy in the mouth, the lip-smacking acidity of this rosé of Pinot Noir is utterly refreshing.

2020 Sancerre Champs d'Alligny
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Previously blended into the domaine’s Sancerre rouge, the Champs d’Alligny is now its own bottling, a successful experiment if there ever was one.

2019 Sancerre Rouge “Champs d’Alligny”
France | Loire
Previously blended into the domaine’s Sancerre rouge, the Champs d’Alligny is now its own bottling, a successful experiment if there ever was one.
About The Producer
Daniel Chotard
About The Region
Loire
The defining feature of the Loire Valley, not surprisingly, is the Loire River. As the longest river in France, spanning more than 600 miles, this river connects seemingly disparate wine regions. Why else would Sancerre, with its Kimmeridgian limestone terroir be connected to Muscadet, an appellation that is 250 miles away?
Secondary in relevance to the historical, climatic, environmental, and cultural importance of the river are the wines and châteaux of the Jardin de la France. The kings and nobility of France built many hundreds of châteaux in the Loire but wine preceded the arrival of the noblesse and has since out-lived them as well.
Diversity abounds in the Loire. The aforementioned Kimmderidgian limestone of Sancerre is also found in Chablis. Chinon, Bourgueil, and Saumur boast the presence of tuffeau, a type of limestone unique to the Loire that has a yellowish tinge and a chalky texture. Savennières has schist, while Muscadet has volcanic, granite, and serpentinite based soils. In addition to geologic diversity, many, grape varieties are grown there too: Cabernet Franc, Chenin Blanc, Sauvignon Blanc, and Melon de Bourgogne are most prevalent, but (to name a few) Pinot Gris, Grolleau, Pinot Noir, Pineau d’Aunis, and Folle Blanche are also planted. These myriad of viticultural influences leads to the high quality production of every type of wine: red, white, rosé, sparkling, and dessert.
Like the Rhône and Provence, some of Kermit’s first imports came from the Loire, most notably the wines of Charles Joguet and Château d’Epiré—two producers who are featured in Kermit’s book Adventures on the Wine Route and with whom we still work today.
More from Loire or France
2021 Pouilly-Fumé “Vieilles Vignes”
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2019 Savennières “Cuvée Spéciale”
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2020 Sancerre Rouge “Le Chant de l’Archet”
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2022 Sancerre
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2021 Pouilly-Fumé “Vieilles Vignes”
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2022 Reuilly Pinot Noir
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2019 Savennières “Cuvée Spéciale”
Château d’Épiré France | Loire
2019 Bourgeuil “Vieilles Vignes”
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire
2022 Jasnières
Pascal Janvier France | Loire
2020 Sancerre Rouge “Le Chant de l’Archet”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2021 Bourgueil “Franc de Pied”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2021 Bourgueil “Trinch!”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2017 Chinon Blanc “Clos de la Plante Martin”
Charles Joguet France | Loire
2022 Sancerre
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2021 Bourgueil “La Dilettante”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2018 Saumur Blanc “Le Clos du Moulin”
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Kermit once said...

Kermit once said...
For the wines that I buy I insist that the winemaker leave them whole, intact. I go into the cellars now and select specific barrels or cuvées, and I request that they be bottled without stripping them with filters or other devices. This means that many of our wines will arrive with a smudge of sediment and will throw a more important deposit as time goes by, It also means the wine will taste better.