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2022 Sancerre Blanc “Cuvée Marcel Henri”
Daniel Chotard![- Kermit Lynch Wine Merchant](https://s3.amazonaws.com/efcheckout/kermitlynch/products/Kermit-Lynch-Wine-Merchant-2022-Sancerre-iBlanci-Cuve-Marcel-Henri-product-image-9674-medium.jpg)
Aubert de Villaine told me that he prefers “understated” wines. An understated Sancerre is not easy to find—you’ll encounter more rambunctiousness than finesse, usually. Here, however, is a cuvée spéciale that is not an oaky giant. The vines are fifty to sixty years old, and the wine is aged on its lees eighteen months before bottling. Welcome to depth, complexity, understatement, finesse.
—Kermit Lynch
Wine Type: | white |
Vintage: | 2022 |
Bottle Size: | 750mL |
Blend: | Sauvignon Blanc |
Appellation: | Sancerre |
Country: | France |
Region: | Loire |
Producer: | Daniel Chotard |
Winemaker: | Simon Chotard |
Vineyard: | 25 years average, 1 ha |
Soil: | Clay, Limestone, Kimmeridgian marl |
Aging: | Wine ages in foudre for 1 year, after 1 year the wine is racked in stainless tank and ages for an additional 6 months before bottling |
Farming: | Lutte Raisonnée |
Alcohol: | 13.5% |
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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.
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France | Loire
A fleshy, full-bodied Sancerre with great freshness and the ability to age in bottle for a few years after release.
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2022 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.
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Simply gorgeous, the Cris is sublimely perfumed, generous on the palate, and long and saline on the elegant finish.
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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.
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.
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2022 Menetou-Salon Blanc “Cuvée des Bénédictins”
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2018 Vouvray “La Moelleuse”
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2021 Chinon “Cuvée Terroir”
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2022 Muscadet Sèvre et Maine Sur Lie
Domaine Michel Brégeon France | Loire
2022 Quincy
Domaine Trotereau France | Loire
2023 Bourgueil Rosé
Domaine de la Chanteleuserie France | Loire
2022 Bourgueil Rosé “La Ritournelle”
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2020 Saumur-Champigny “Les Mémoires”
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Kermit once said...
![Kermit Lynch pulling wine out of a cellar.](http://s3.amazonaws.com/efcheckout/kermitlynch/content/Kermit-Lynch-Wine-Merchant-Kermit-once-said-image_img_1-13431-medium.jpeg)
Kermit once said...
If you're looking for value, look where no one else is looking.
Inspiring Thirst, page 211