Week in and week out, we taste countless wines in search of those that cross the line from good to great. A key component of this is suspending disbelief—meaning, in this case, that it is possible for a modestly priced Sancerre to be truly great, as opposed to something to sip absentmindedly in a bistro.
Sancerre is a world-class white wine terroir by any measure, though its prices rarely reflect that. The best analog may by Chablis, which Sancerre resembles both physically and in market perception; in the case of today’s wine, there’s also a strong stylistic kinship. B. Millet’s Sancerre “Le Chemin Blanc” is a wine that is firstly place, then grape. It’s a party of oyster shells and serious texture, a flawless figure-eight of minerality that speaks like top-notch Burgundy. This vibrant style of terroir-forward Sancerre is part of a renaissance associated with names like Domaine Vacheron; Claude and Sébastien Riffault; and the Cotat brothers (to name a few). Interestingly aligned with a French-based exporter versus a US-based importer, Franck and Betty Millet are only now experiencing the American sommelier and critic glow. As a result, the quality-to-price scale tips heavily towards you, the drinker. It’s only the beginning of the year, but this might be the hard-to-beat deal of 2019. Grab what you can, before the wine world’s light shines brighter on Franck and Betty Millet.
Husband-wife team Franck and Betty Millet are third-generation wine growers and producers. They farm 22 hectares in the town of Bué, down the road from local icon Lucien Crochet. It’s easy to typecast the wines of Sancerre as just “Sancerre,” avoiding the conversation of sub-region, village, or vineyard, but Sancerre—like Chablis—is a terroir-lover’s dream. Close your eyes and envision a witch’s hat. Near the top are the towns of Sury-en-Vaux and Maimbray. As you go down the cone, you see Verdigny to the right and, just below it, famous Chavignol on the left. At the tilted, floppy base, Bué is west and Ménétréol-sous-Sancerre is in the east. You can forever argue which village or hamlet is the mecca for Sauvignon Blanc, but it’s fact that each place has its secret sauce of chalk and pebbles. Within any renaissance, there is creativity and variation, and in Sancerre, the use of barrels and texture-enhancing lees aging have quietly snuck through the cellar door. And that’s exactly why Millet is heroic: Their wines are pure and textured without any fattening cellar techniques. There’s nothing fancy or flowery about their farming or winemaking practices. Theirs is a philosophy driven by minimal chemical intervention, the use of cover crops, naturally tilled soils, long, cool fermentations, conservative lees aging, and the use of steel. Their choices are mindfully basic, betting on the essence of a place and its harmonious grape. “Le Chemin Blanc” (not Chenin Blanc!) means the “The White Road,” a reference to the chalky white soils, the ring-bearer of soul and diamond-cut minerality. For today, anyway, take a detour from Champagne fix, pass by Chablis, and turn right on “Le Chemin Blanc.” It’s a small road, one less traveled, but you’ll be happy staying here and drinking this Sauvignon Blanc for a while.
Today's 2017 exhibits layered texture along with profound minerality and racy acidity. After a frosty start, 2017 ended pitch-perfect for Franck and Betty Millet. If you’ve never had their wines, the 2017 “Le Chemin Blanc” is an excellent snapshot of their style of Sauvignon Blanc. A long and cool fermentation, lasting 7-10 weeks, followed by three weeks of gentle lees stirring unravel into a wine of elegant precision. Open the bottle and let it breathe for 20 minutes. A Riesling glass, or a glass with a narrow diameter, accentuates the funnel of the aromatics. A platinum core shimmers with faint green, and upon the first smell there is a rush of cold ocean minerality, bits of oyster shell, and ultra-white pearl. Place first, grape second, the Sauvignon Blanc gives a friendly “hello” with its tart white peach, white flowers, and yellow-green citrus. The wine is refreshing, yet deceivingly complex and invisibly layered like fine-quality cotton sheets. We also found that it improved with time open, suggesting positive evolution should you choose to cellar some (which you should). A quick splash in a decanter never hurts, and let the service temperature creep up past 50 degrees. It made me crave seafood in a wide variety of forms, so catch something fresh and treat yourself to this truly electric, memorable white.
