As popular as Sauvignon Blanc is around the world, it doesn’t have a big reputation as a ‘collectible.’ Other aromatic varieties, like Riesling, get more critical love. But Domaine Vacheron’s 2014 Sancerre ‘Les Romains’ is another story altogether.
It’s not just Sauvignon Blanc at its best. It’s white wine at its best, as age-worthy as anything you’ll find from Burgundy, or the Mosel – from a vineyard that ranks with the most storied crus in the world. Combine this treasured real estate with old vines, biodynamic farming, and meticulous, traditional winemaking and you get a mind-bending expression of Sauvignon Blanc that transcends varietal categories. It’s a sensory experience you will never forget. With mesmerizing vitality in its youth, this wine will easily age a decade or more. It’s as collectible a white wine as any we’ve recommended here. (Very little of this precious wine reaches our shores and we can only offer six bottles per person.)
The medieval village of Sancerre rests on the eastern edge of the appellation that takes its name, atop a hillside that overlooks a sea of vineyards. This idyllic setting is where the Vacherons have crafted world-class Sancerre for three generations. In charge of this incredible legacy are cousins Jean-Laurent and Jean-Dominique Vacheron, who took the reins of the world-famous Domaine from their fathers. After extensive study around the world, they returned to their hometown and the family winery with a passion for the purest vineyard practices possible. While their fathers had always practiced natural winemaking techniques, it was the cousins who pushed for organic and biodynamic certification (obtained in 2003/2004). This direction has already resulted in even more pronounced characteristics of terroir and a profound level of energy and focus in their wines. Their dedicated work in the vineyards transmits the ethereal essence of this remarkable site’s silex soils.