The Crochet family’s 2014 Sancerre Blanc “Le Chêne” is produced from vineyards in the Sancerre sub-village of Bué. The Crochets work in a small walled vineyard called Clos du Chêne Marchand that is composed of clay-limestone soils (known locally as “caillottes and griottes”) and planted entirely to Sauvignon Blanc. This vineyard enjoys unusually broad and warm exposure to the sun, so despite this being one of the estate’s top wines, it comes from fruit that is actually harvested earlier than most other Sauvignon parcels in the village. As with all the Crochet family’s vineyards, the Clos du Chêne Marchand is meticulously farmed, harvested by hand, and all clusters are rigorously hand sorted before fermentation.

Unlike many of the cellars I describe on this site, the Crochet family’s winery is not a funky, rustic, minimally appointed basement of a family home—in fact it is quite the opposite. In order to make focused, fresh, and extremely pure wine it is necessary to incorporate some trappings of modernity; so the family runs an impressively clean and technologically advanced cellar. Fermentation and aging temperatures are all controlled by computer and every vinification function is planned and carried out with a sense of purpose. It’s no wonder that so much thought and organization goes into producing wines this consistent and delicious. 

In the truly outstanding 2014 vintage, Lucien Crochet’s “Le Chêne” bottling has a light golden yellow core with green highlights on the rim. Finely layered and focused peony, chrysanthemum, pear blossom, oyster shell, granny smith apple, grapefruit, lemon cream, acacia honey, and toasted biscuit comprise this wine’s gorgeous mosaic of aromas. As always, its palate opens with mouthwatering freshness, before melting into a truly endless and long finish of white flowers and honeycomb. If you let this wine rise to the proper temperature, you will notice an slight oiliness to the texture which is rarely achieved in the region.  In 2014, this cuvée is particularly impressive but it demands a little extra patience— if drinking now, I encourage you to decant for 2 hours prior to serving just below cellar temperature (55-60 degrees) in large Burgundy stems. I must add these wines age incredibly well and I the best bottles I have had have been 7-10 years old so do not be a afraid of forgetting about a few in the cellar. I can think of no better way to begin a special evening than pairing this singular wine with a classic goat cheese salad from one of America’s timeless restaurants. Cheers!