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2023 Sancerre

Daniel Chotard
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Longtime readers of our newsletter will surely know of the accordion-playing, jazz-loving master of Sancerre, Daniel Chotard. Every year, he would send us a lively and delicious Sancerre blanc, a fruity rosé, and a light and earthy rouge, all embodying the “bistro” style of the day—a style tailor-made for Daniel’s upbeat musicality, which was guaranteed to have the room singing and dancing in no time.
       In recent years, Daniel has passed the reins on to his son Simon, who has taken the domaine to new heights through extensive terroir studies and increasingly progressive farming and winemaking in the village Crézancy-en-Sancerre, where flint meets clay and the famous Kimmeridgian limestone. Simon practices organic farming, and he harvests his grapes later than his neighbors, resulting in full-bodied wines with a rich complexity. He ferments every wine naturally—a rare feat in an appellation where technical winemaking is still the norm. While Simon’s quest for a more authentic expression of terroir has led him to isolate certain parcels and vinify them in distinctive single-vineyard cuvées, his blended Sancerre blanc is a triumph in its own right. Electric, mineral, and sneakily complex, it delivers one of the best bottles the appellation has to offer.

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Technical Information
Wine Type: white
Vintage: 2023
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: 13%

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About The Region

Loire

map of 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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Kermit Lynch

You don’t have to be rich to cellar a great wine.

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