Today we showcase a riveting white from one of my all-time favorite estates. SommSelect shares a small and carefully chosen selection of limited Sancerre releases every year, but—especially at this irresistible price—take my word that today’s offer is an absolute must.
When people ask me why I regard Domaine Vacheron’s wines as perhaps the finest in all of Sancerre, I’m reminded of February 2016. The Golden State Warriors were trudging through a grueling East Coast road trip. Star MVP point guard Steph Curry was the highest-value target for every opposing player on that trip, constantly suffocated by double teaming and ruthless fouling. Still, even under such challenging circumstances, from February 22nd to March 3rd Steph executed what many consider the greatest five-game offensive streak in NBA history. And, just like Curry, Domaine Vacheron seems to accept each season as a fresh opportunity to demonstrate why it deserves Sancerre’s MVP award. Every year, the mystique and demand surrounding these wines increases, Vacheron responds by raising the bar even higher. The family’s painstaking organic/biodynamic farming is a high-water mark in the region and current releases are amongst the finest Sancerre I’ve ever tasted. There’s a small soil-oriented detail that makes today’s bottle one of my “secret” favorites in the family’s lineup but we’ll get to that in a moment. In the meantime, I don’t expect this offer to last long today. Have at it!
The medieval village of Sancerre sits perched atop a hillside overlooking a vast expanse of vineyards on the appellation’s eastern border. For generations, the Vacheron family has crafted Sancerre in this breathtaking setting with equally breathtaking results. Today, two cousins, Jean-Laurent and Jean-Dominique Vacheron, have assumed control of the property from their fathers and now oversee all aspects of the domaine. To be clear, this is not the story of two entitled, well-heeled brats inheriting the family business and coasting on the hard work of their forefathers. On the contrary, Jean-Laurent and Jean-Dominique spent many years of disciplined study and interning abroad and returned home to the family winery in Sancerre only after gleaning the experience and knowledge necessary to elevate Domaine Vacheron to a new level of excellence. Vacheron has been synonymous with top-tier quality in Sancerre for my entire career, but after these two cousins helped transition the property to organic and biodynamic farming in the mid-2000’s, quality took a quantum leap. Their dedicated work in the vineyards beautifully transmits the essence of the family’s treasured sites in a way that is both undeniably profound and addictively delicious.
I am captivated by all of Domaine Vacheron’s cuvées, but today’s village-level Sancerre bottling is different from the others. Vacheron’s other whites are overwhelmingly dominated by flinty silex soils, an integral element of the family’s house style that imparts a sharpness and precision that is impossible to counterfeit. Today’s wine is unique in that it also relies on a healthy share of vines grown in the family’s limestone/clay sites. The result is a Sancerre that has all the kinetic energy and vivid minerality one expects from Vacheron, but the addition of limestone/clay terroir adds an openness and softness to the fruit that allows one to enjoy this wine immediately, versus waiting a few years as Vacheron’s other wines often demand. Finally, this is the only Vacheron wine that is priced at a level I can call a “bargain.” All the family’s whites over-deliver every vintage, but the value offered by this deceivingly complex village-level Sancerre blanc bottling is nothing short of astonishing.
The 2016 Domaine Vacheron Sancerre Blanc illuminates the glass with a light golden core and green reflections on the rim. Oyster shell, flint, shattered white stone, fresh-cut hay and stone fruit pit form a mineral foundation upon which green apple, grapefruit pith and citrus notes gently rest. No one note dominates—this is a symphony of aromatics with each detail interweaving perfectly. On the palate, the wine offers textbook medium body and a the constant refreshment of mouthwatering acidity. This is the essence of Sancerre and I recommend enjoying it two ways. First, invite over some close friends, chill a bottle a bottle or two and serve in a large Bordeaux stem at 55 degrees alongside first-course salad incorporating goat cheese. Next, don’t tell any of your friends that you’re hiding a few more bottles in your cellar. Vacheron produces Sancerre in the old style which is to say that, like the greatest examples from terroir cousins Champagne and Chablis, these wines improve dramatically with age. Today’s wine is a delicious and terroir-packed joy today, but it will evolve into something altogether more deep and profound with a few more years in bottle. I encourage you to sit on some of this gorgeous 2016 vintage until the early 2020’s. You won’t be disappointed!
