Just like Napa Valley, even the best producers in Sancerre have more wine than they can sell. That’s where négociants come in. A top producer just outside of Sancerre in the town of Verdigny, famed for its “terres blanches” limestone soils, sold a few barrels of this old-vine Pinot Noir to a savvy négoce in Burgundy who immediately saw a ridiculous value opportunity: to create a “Vieilles Vignes” cuvée that is not otherwise bottled under the producer’s brand name! 

The hills around Sancerre are a collection of green and white trapezoids that look like they were painted by Diebenkorn. Their magic lies in their Kimmeridgian limestone. One barrel of this wine is from these hillside “terres blanches” that the locals sometimes liken to grazing sheep. The other barrel is from rocky, pebbly limestone scree known as “caillottes.” Their synergy gives this wine its truffly, chalky appeal that you also see in irresistible bottles from Santenay or Maranges in the Côte de Beaune. Don’t sleep on this one.

Why You'll Love It

• All of the pretty, lilting cranberry fruit, fresh herbs, and chalky, limestone-inflected finesse of a fetching bottle of Côte de Beaune Red Burgundy for half the price. 

• Great vintage! A warm ripe vintage with refreshing mid-August rains that produced concentrated wines and great acidity. 

How to Serve it

• Decant for 30 minutes to drink now, or keep through 2032.

• Serve in Red Burgundy bowls at 58°F.

• Pair with a big hunk of pâté, buttered baguette, and Camembert. This wine needs food as a foil to come alive; it’s not a cocktail wine.