When we first offered today’s wine last summer, we ran out of superlatives to describe it—and ran out of the wine in the process. At one point or another, we’ve probably offered every wine Domaine Vacheron makes, which made our visit to the domaine this past March that much more meaningful.
In addition to a stellar lineup of Vacheron 2016s, we got the chance to revisit this 2015 Sancerre Rouge. This was a next-level Loire Valley Pinot when it was first released, and it has only gotten better: Even in the bone-chilling cold of Vacheron’s cellars—it may be the coldest winery cellar I’ve ever visited—this wine leapt from the glass and showed a level of concentration and complexity that spoke not just to the vintage but to Vacheron’s long track record with Pinot Noir in this terroir. In a blind tasting, it performs like serious red Burgundy: bring it to your next tasting group and ask them the price. If you missed this wine the first time around—or drank up your stash already, like us—here’s another opportunity to purchase a few more bottles. It has gotten dramatically better with more age and will continue to improve for the next decade to come. If you love Pinot Noir, this is an expression you must experience.
Domaine Vacheron is not only one of our go-to sources for steely, ethereal whites, but for reds from Pinot Noir that consistently transcend expectations for this grape in this place. As much as we love Sancerre Rouge (we offer it often), it is typically a more feathery, smoky, cooler-climate cousin to red Burgundy—a wine to enjoy young with a slight chill, not something to lay down for any length of time. Then there’s this 2015 from Vacheron, which takes Sancerre Rouge to another level. This is the best vintage of this wine we’ve ever tried, and a wine which, at a tasting that also included some noteworthy (and more-expensive) reds from Burgundy and elsewhere, was the bottle everyone kept returning to. It is that good.
Cousins Jean-Dominique and Jean-Laurent Vacheron are third-generation proprietors of an estate that was founded in 1900; it has since grown to encompass about 50 hectares of vineyards in Sancerre’s choicest spots (of which a solid 11 hectares are of Pinot Noir). Since the early 2000s, the Vacherons have farmed biodynamically, and they’ve attained both organic and biodynamic certifications for their wines. The average age of their vines for this bottling ranges from 30 to 50 years, with soils a mix of chalk and flint (silex). This wine was hand-harvested and fermented in a mixture of stainless steel tanks and open-topped wooden vats. It was aged about a year in a mix of large oak foudre and used French oak barriques.
The combination of finesse, depth of flavor, and perfume in this 2015 is simply stunning. In the glass, it’s a bright ruby with hints of pink and garnet at the rim, with explosive aromas of red raspberries, cherry kirsch liqueur, currants, pomegranate, dried orange peel, dried rose petals, warm spices, and a hint of pepper. There’s a sappy richness to the fruit—a hallmark of 2015 reds from all over Europe—but also a fine, filigree texture and ample perfume on the finish. It is at once lush and tense, silky and nervy, built more like a Chambolle-Musigny or Vosne-Romanée from Burgundy’s Côte de Nuits than the general population of Sancerre Rouge. I think this will age gracefully through its 10th birthday, but I doubt my supply will make it that long—it’s just too delicious to stay away from. Open an hour in advance, or decant it 30 minutes before serving at 60 degrees in Burgundy stems next to some Cantonese Roast Duck (this recipe is incredible). If there are more than two of you, be sure to have more than one bottle on hand. This is a conversation-piece wine that will wow even your pickiest oenophile friends. Grab as much as you can afford—it’s worth it!
