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Domaine Pellé, Sancerre “La Croix au Garde”

Loire Valley, France 2017 (750mL)
$30.00
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Domaine Pellé, Sancerre “La Croix au Garde”

One of the joys of being a sommelier is making new discoveries—finding great wines from unsung grapes or places. But the quest for the new sometimes begets a “been there, done that” attitude toward well-known classics like Sancerre. Today’s wine from Domaine Pellé reminded me how dangerously stupid that attitude can be. 
If you’re in need of a reminder that Sauvignon Blanc from Sancerre is one of the world’s greatest white wines—or if you already knew that and think I’m a lunatic for even bringing it up—taste today’s exceptionally pure, sumptuously textured 2017. In my ongoing hunt for the exotic and the undiscovered, I guess I’d forgotten how thrilling and deeply satisfying a good Sancerre can be. I’m not surprised, mind you, I just haven’t had a bottle of Sancerre in a while—so I appreciate fourth-generation vigneron Paul-Henry Pellé for putting such a memorable bottle on my table for just $30. There’s a level of depth on the mid-palate reminiscent of Didier Dagueneau’s iconic Loire Sauvignons, albeit at a fraction of their prices. Grown in limestone soils strewn with the pebbles known as caillotes, this is an exciting rediscovery for me and for anyone who’s overlooked the greatness of Sancerre in favor of some other new, shiny thing. You do so at your peril!
Pellé’s “La Croix au Garde” Sancerre comes from the only vineyard the family farms in the appellation: a four-hectare site in the village of Montigny, in the southwest corner of the Sancerre AOC. The Pellé cellars, and most of its 40 hectares of vines, are a little further west in Menetou-Salon, in the town of Morogues. Morogues is on terres blanches, and the Pellé Menetou-Salon wines emphasize the village name on their labels; Paul-Henry Pellé’s father and grandfather had both emphasized how similar the soils in Morogues were to those in more-famous Sancerre villages such as Chavignol, home to greats like Pascal Cotat, among others. Nearby in Montigny, just across the border between the two appellations, the soil composition is also limestone-rich, but a more pebbly mixture from the Oxfordian period referred to as caillotes.

Paul-Henry Pellé grew up in Morogues but eventually obtained his wine training at the lycée viticole in Beaune, in the heart of Burgundy. He did apprenticeships with Burgundian vignerons Olivier Lamy and Benjamin Leroux, and it’s impossible not to recognize a ‘Burgundian’ influence in Pellé’s 2017 La Croix au Garde: It’s a textural thing, a level of mid-palate richness balanced by acidity/minerality. This owes in part to an aging regimen that incorporates extended time on the lees in a mix of stainless steel and larger-sized oak casks, but also to the old vines in the Pellé’s Montigny vineyard, which were planted in the early 1980s. Whereas some young Sancerres can be austere and heavily influenced by their chalky soil component (not a bad thing, by the way), this one displays ample ripe fruit as well—a beautiful jolt of sunny citrus followed by flowers and minerals on the zippy, refreshing finish. 

In the glass, the wine displays a shimmering yellow-gold core with some green highlights at the rim, and comes right out of the bottle with its aromatic guns blazing: mandarin orange, Meyer lemon, grapefruit, green herbs, honeysuckle, wet stones, and crushed chalk. It is medium-bodied and very exuberant and enjoyable right now—texture and quite substantial but also full of energy and mineral-laced refreshment. Just a “chef’s kiss” of a Sancerre, in my opinion, and a wine to re-visit happily over the next 3-5 years if you’re wise enough to stock up. Pull the cork on this gem about 15 minutes before serving at 45-50 degrees in all-purpose white wine stems. Do what I did with this bottle and pair it with the lemony pasta recipe attached—never have the French and the Italians gotten along so well. Enjoy!
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Country
France
Region
Loire Valley
Sub-Region
FranceSancerre AOC
Soil
Limestone & Clay
Farming
Sustainable
Blend
Sauvignon Blanc 100%
Alcohol
13.5
OAK
Partial Large Cask
TEMP.
45-50
Glassware
All-Purpose Whites
Drinking
Now-2025
Decanting
Optional
Pairing
Spaghettini w/ Garlic & Lemon

France

Bourgogne

Beaujolais

Enjoying the greatest wines of Beaujolais starts, as it usually does, with the lay of the land. In Beaujolais, 10 localities have been given their own AOC (Appellation of Controlled Origin) designation. They are: Saint Amour; Juliénas; Chénas; Moulin-à Vent; Fleurie; Chiroubles; Morgon; Régnié; Côte de Brouilly; and Brouilly.

Southwestern France

Bordeaux

Bordeaux surrounds two rivers, the Dordogne and Garonne, which intersect north of the city of Bordeaux to form the Gironde Estuary, which empties into the Atlantic Ocean. The region is at the 45th parallel (California’s Napa Valley is at the38th), with a mild, Atlantic-influenced climate enabling the maturation of late-ripening varieties.

Central France

Loire Valley

The Loire is France’s longest river (634 miles), originating in the southerly Cévennes Mountains, flowing north towards Paris, then curving westward and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean near Nantes. The Loire and its tributaries cover a huge swath of central France, with most of the wine appellations on an east-west stretch at47 degrees north (the same latitude as Burgundy).

Northeastern France

Alsace

Alsace, in Northeastern France, is one of the most geologically diverse wine regions in the world, with vineyards running from the foothills of theVosges Mountains down to the Rhine River Valley below.

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