Tthe Roger family has been growing grapes in the central Loire Valley for almost 400 years now. Based in the Sancerre village Bué, the Rogers grew grapes and made barrels starting in the 17th century. However, It wasn’t until the 1970s that the domaine took on its current shape. That was when Jean-Max shifted the family enterprise from a mixed farm operation to one strictly focused on grape growing. He also stopped selling fruit and wine to negociants, and began bottling wine under the family name.

Jean-Max’s sons Etienne and Thibault now run the show, and they’ve taken it to the next level. They’ve expanded the family’s vineyard holdings into some of the most prized terroir in the central Loire, and started to bottle wines by single plot and soil type. Theirs is a very pure and unadorned style, emphasizing elegance and transparency – not to mention full-throated deliciousness – across the range. For our money, though, when you’re after pure Sauvignon Blanc pleasure, nothing in the lineup beats “Cuvée Les Alouettes.”

Why You’ll Love It

• “Cuvée Les Alouettes” comes from the Roger’s holdings just across the river from Sancerre, in Pouilly-Fumé. “Alouettes” is a single parcel where Sauvignon Blanc grows in the appellation’s famous silex (flint) soils, responsible for the region’s signature smoky minerality. 

• Every step of the winemaking process emphasizes purity and elegance. Fruit is hand-harvested, whole cluster pressed, then fermented and aged in stainless steel without batonnage. 

• From the first whiff, the nose is everything we could ask for in vibrant, quaffable Sauvignon Blanc: lemon zest, grapefruit, peach pit, and gooseberry fruit marry grassy, thyme-laden herbal tones. Pulsing oyster shell and pounded chalk minerality zip through it all.

• On the palate, it’s medium-bodied, with just an incredible sense of verve. It’s thrillingly high-toned without ever being austere, with a wash of thirst-quenching acidity and mineral power leading the charge. Good luck just having one glass!

How To Enjoy It

• Serve chilled, around 45 or 50 degrees, out of all-purpose stems.

• “Cuvée les Alouettes” will get even more complex, and take on a little more weight, if you’re able to keep your hands off it for three to five years. But boy is it almost perfect right now!

• Some raw oysters would be ideal here, but grilled or fried works too. “Cuvée Les Alouettes” also sing next to a summer salad with goat cheese. Or, let’s be honest, on its own!