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2021 Sancerre
Daniel ChotardWonderfully expressive, crisp, lip-smacking, give-me-more, fill-up-the-cup Sancerre! True to its roots.
—Chris Santini
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2021 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Sauvignon Blanc |
Appellation: | Sancerre |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | Daniel Chotard |
Winemaker: | Simon Chotard |
Vineyard: | 10.51 ha, 5-65 years |
Soil: | Clay, Limestone, Kimmeridgian marl |
Farming: | Lutte Raisonnée |
Alcohol: | 12.5% |
More from this Producer or Region
2021 Sancerre “Cuvée Marcel Henri”
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Welcome to depth, complexity, understatement, finesse.
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 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.
2020 Sancerre “Hameau de Reigny”
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Simon refers to Hameau de Reigny as a “nature” wine. The result is textured and tropical-fruited, yet not so much a departure from the region’s typicity, as rather, a riff on it.
2021 Sancerre Rouge
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Chotard has crafted a delicious, complex, and elegant rouge that gives many village Burgundies a run for their money.
2021 Sancerre “Les Coutones”
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May Bianco ~ A fleshy, full-bodied Sancerre with great freshness and the ability to age in bottle for a few years after release.
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.
2020 Sancerre Rouge “Le Chant de l’Archet”
France | Loire
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 Cris”
France | Loire
Simply gorgeous, the Cris is sublimely perfumed, generous on the palate, and long and saline on the elegant finish.
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
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2020 Saumur Champigny “Outre Terre”
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2022 Muscadet Côtes de Grand Lieu sur lie “La Nöe”
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2021 Bourgueil “Franc de Pied”
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1989 Vouvray “Bois Guyon”
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2021 Sancerre “Les Coutones”
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2018 Vin de France Rouge Grolleau/Cabernet Franc
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2021 Chinon “Les Grézeaux”
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2022 Reuilly Pinot Noir
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2022 Jasnières “Cuvée du Silex”
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2022 Saumur Champigny “La Foulée”
Domaine des Roches Neuves France | Loire
2020 Saumur Champigny “Outre Terre”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
Touraine “Fines Bulles”
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire
2022 Muscadet Côtes de Grand Lieu sur lie “La Nöe”
Éric Chevalier France | Loire
2021 Bourgueil “Franc de Pied”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
1989 Vouvray “Bois Guyon”
Catherine & Pierre Breton France | Loire
2021 Sancerre “Les Coutones”
Daniel Chotard France | Loire
2018 Vin de France Rouge Grolleau/Cabernet Franc
Grange Saint-Sauveur France | Loire
2021 Chinon “Les Grézeaux”
Bernard Baudry France | Loire
2022 Reuilly Pinot Noir
Domaine de Reuilly France | Loire
2020 Saumur Blanc “L’Insolite”
Thierry Germain France | Loire
2022 Jasnières “Cuvée du Silex”
Pascal Janvier France | Loire
Where the newsletter started
Where the newsletter started
Every three or four months I would send my clients a cheaply made list of my inventory, but it began to dawn on me that business did not pick up afterwards. It occurred to me that my clientele might not know what Château Grillet is, either. One month in 1974 I had an especially esoteric collection of wines arriving, so I decided to put a short explanation about each wine into my price list, to try and let my clients know what to expect when they uncorked a bottle. The day after I mailed that brochure, people showed up at the shop, and that is how these little propaganda pieces for fine wine were born.—Kermit Lynch