It’s becoming increasingly difficult to write about Loire legend Domaine Vacheron because they continue to outdo themselves and I’m bound to run out of superlatives at a certain point. But that difficulty comes nowhere close to matching the grueling efforts to obtain an allocation in today’s fierce landscape: Despite seven years of offering Vacheron’s collection of Sancerre as if they were hot-ticket prescriptions, we’re now stuck on perpetual standby. Really, there’s not much you can do when quantity remains static yet demand, quality, and prices are at an all-time high. So, we wait, hoping and praying a call will come. It finally did.
Vacheron’s dedication to farming and traditional winemaking, coupled with top vineyard holdings, results in timeless expressions of place with staggering varietal purity, just like the iconic bottlings of Raveneau Chablis, Weinbach Riesling, and Knoll Grüner. In other words, today’s highly allocated 2019 Sancerre is a quintessential Sauvignon Blanc at its most profound and iconic. After a brief decant, this wine demands to be acknowledged as the apex of Sancerre, with its stunning depth, mineral-loaded texture, and pulse-quickening tension. And yet, it’s most certainly poised to develop even more mind-bending complexity in the far reaches of your cellar. It’s a must for any wine devotee.
The medieval village of Sancerre rests on the eastern edge of the appellation atop a hillside that overlooks a surrounding sea of vineyards. It is in this idyllic setting where the Vacherons have crafted world-class Sancerre for generations. In charge of this incredible legacy are cousins, Jean-Laurent and Jean-Dominique Vacheron, who took the reins from their fathers. After extensive studies around the world, they returned to their hometown with a passion for the purest vineyard practices possible. While their fathers had always practiced natural winemaking techniques, it was the cousins who passionately pushed for organic and biodynamic certification, and they obtained it in the mid-2000s. Their dedicated work in the vineyards beautifully transmits the ethereal essence of the silex and Kimmeridgian limestone soils, as well as profound levels of energy and focus in their wines.
The hard work in the vineyards coupled with traditional winemaking in the cellar is what makes this unrivaled expression possible. By way of biodynamic farming, they plow the soils, fertilize with natural compost, plant cover crops between the rows of vines, and hand harvest smaller yet higher-quality yields than their neighbors. In the cellar, the grapes are gently pressed then fermented and aged in stainless steel tanks. Although, a small percentage of the blend comes from a selection of single-vineyard parcels, of which mature in old French barrels. This brilliant combination results in a vivid snapshot of elite Sancerre: optimal freshness, rich varietal purity, and intense minerality.
Domaine Vacheron’s 2019 Sancerre Blanc is exceptionally pure and vibrates with palpable energy. Typical of Vacheron year over year, the incredibly focused aromatics reveal green mango peel, gooseberry, kiwi, grapefruit, green apple, white peach, lemon blossom, lemongrass, chervil, crushed stones, and powerful oyster shell minerality. However, I will say this ‘19 is among the most simultaneously rich and refreshing releases I can remember. This is a mouth-filling Sauvignon Blanc with high acid that lends incredible freshness alongside complex, layers-deep minerality. Reminiscent of the nose, the richly textured palate offers flavors of focused tropical/citrus fruit, crushed herbs, and pulverized chalk minerality. It’s an absolute delight to consume now, as well as a serious case study for this world-renowned region, but just keep in mind it will develop additional savory complexities over the next 3-5 years. For immediate enjoyment, decant for a minimum of 30 minutes and serve in Burgundy stems between 50-55 degrees—due to the magnitude of aromatics and nuanced texture here, I prefer to drink this a touch warmer to experience the entire sensory spectrum. Cheers!
