Domaine Curot has all the artisanal bona fides we look for here at SommSelect. Fourth-generation winemaker Éric Louis traces his family roots in the region to 1860, when his great-grandmother, Pauline, was a pioneering producer of estate-bottled wines. The family’s 30 acres of vines are in the village of Vinon, southeast of Sancerre proper, and root in a mix of the region’s two principal soil types—limestone/clay and flint (silex). The latter is said to be a little more prominent in the Domaine Curot plots, and the slightly smoky character it imparts is readily evident in today’s ripe-yet-soil-expressive 2018. Louis practices organic farming wherever possible (known as the lutte raisonnée, or “reasoned fight”) and eschews any sulfur additions during fermentation. The wines undergo only a light filtration and are given the slightest dose of sulfur possible at bottling.

And when I said this wine snapped us to attention I wasn’t kidding. This is crystalline, high-energy Sancerre with an already-harmonious melding of fruit and earth notes. As a 2018, it still possesses some youthful austerity but the fruit component is substantial enough to make it highly enjoyable now. It also has a long future ahead for those with the patience and the space to lay some down. In the glass, it’s a glistening straw-gold with green and silver highlights, with textbook aromas of ripe citrus fruits, passionfruit, white peach, lime blossom, lemon balm and other aromatic herbs, oyster shells, and crushed white stones. It is medium-bodied and nicely textured on the mid-palate, having been aged only in steel tanks but subjected to regular lees-stirring during that period. I’d be curious to see where this wine goes in five years—it certainly will become richer and rounder, developing a deeper, more savory aspect in contrast to its fruit. If you are enjoying your bottle(s) now, splash-decant about 15 minutes before serving in all-purpose white wine stems at 45-50 degrees. When I tasted this wine, I was immediately transported back to my last visit to Sancerre, where every visit at some point featured a plate with an assortment of the region’s local goat cheeses. The mineral-tinged, palate gripping fattiness of the cheese is perfectly foiled by the laser-sharp acidity of the wine, and that was the inspiration for today’s recipe recommendation. The combination is pretty tough to beat. Enjoy!