It’s easy to forget that Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc is more than just Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. The Loire’s a long river (France’s longest, actually) and an incredibly diverse wine region, with many intriguing nooks and crannies for Sauvignon Blanc along its winding route.
So, if you’re in the mood to learn something new—and drink extremely well while doing so—check out today’s broad-shouldered, bargain-priced Sauvignon Blanc from the Touraine-Oisly appellation. Although the Touraine AOC is a wide-reaching one, occupying a large chunk of the central Loire, Touraine-Oisly is a village-specific sub-appellation on the rolling Sologne plain east of Tours. Domaine de Marcé is one of just a handful of producers using the Touraine-Oisly designation, and if you are a fan of the many great Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé wines we offer here, let me tell you: Today’s 2016 is well-worth a detour. Like other Touraine-sourced Sauvignons we’ve tried, this one showcases a little more weight and fruit concentration on the palate without sacrificing the racy freshness or mineral edge the Loire is justly famous for. Famous name? No, but this is where some of France’s best-value Sauvignon Blanc hides in plain sight. Looking at our year so far, I can’t think of many whites that could compete with this one on a ‘pound-for-pound’ basis. It isn’t merely a Sancerre alternative—it’s a unique and worthy rival at a price that doesn’t do justice to its quality. You’d be very well-served to have a case of this on hand for the coming summer months!
Touraine can be a confusing district, and not many people take the time to appreciate its intricacies. The success of Chenin Blanc and Cabernet Franc in Vouvray, Bourgueil, and Chinon often eclipse Touraine’s excellence in Sauvignon Blanc, which accounts for the majority of the region’s production. Most vineyards are found south of the city of Tours, planted between the Loire and Cher rivers. But drive 18 miles from the bright, windy Château of Chambord and you’ll land in the village of Oisly, home of Domaine de Marcé. Their 35 hectares of vines are planted on a layer of fine sand over cold green argile clay. The sand brings elegance and suppleness to the wines while the clay adds depth and intensity. The gentle slope of the banks of the river Cher means excess water drains neatly. Vines are between 10-30 years of age, 80 percent white (mostly Sauvignon Blanc with two hectares of Chardonnay for sparkling) and 20 percent red.
Christophe Godet is the sixth generation of his family to helm Domaine de Marcé, but the eighth to call himself a winemaker. Both his parents are proudly from Touraine—his mother Chantal from an old viticultural family and his father Daniel born in the commune where the domaine’s vines and house now stand: Marcé. Daniel has worked over 55 harvests in his lifetime, and Christophe sites his parents dedication to the vine as his main motivation and inspiration. He inherited Domaine de Marcé upon their retirement in 2008 and, like so many other young winemakers in the world, has been carefully reconciling generations of traditional farming with a few modern updates.
“Coulée Galante” is a prized selection of Sauvignon Blanc vines from the singular terroir of the Sologne viticole: famous for its unique soils, goats, hunting, and extraordinary wines. This is Domaine de Marcé’s most powerful and charismatic white wine. The Godets describe it as a “connoisseur’s Sauvignon Blanc full of rare and intense pleasure,” and I can’t help but agree. It’s also what I’d call a “sommelier wine”: rare, delicious, rooted in a place, and priced so that a second bottle won’t break the bank.
Allow today’s bottle to come up a bit from “fridge temp” before pouring: use all-purpose white stems (or even larger Bordeaux stems) and as it comes up toward 50 degrees you’ll see its full-throttle aromatics blossom. Coulée Galante is a classic straw-yellow in the glass with silver and green reflections at the rim. The first notes are a high-toned mix of green herbs, nettles, and summer grass. There’s a richer note of honeysuckle, mandarin orange and flint underneath the herbaceousness. The citrusy palate balances richness with zesty minerality; it has a very viscous mid-palate checked by freshness and mineral grip, as creamy lemon curd flavors meet up with a jolt of green-apple acidity. This is quintessential 2016: it shows ample concentration and is slightly softer on the palate, making it easy to drink without food. That said, I heartily recommend pairing if only to extend the pleasure of drinking this wine. Try a grilled goat’s cheese sandwich with tarragon oil, or a crab meat omelette topped with spicy tomatoes. Or get a bit loose with it and try a Vietnamese-style green papaya salad covered in crunchy peanuts. The opportunities for pairing here are endless, which is good news, because you’re going to be drinking a lot more Touraine Sauvignon Blanc from now on!
