<p class="wysiwyg-text-align-center"><b>Sancerre’s Charm Offensive</b></p>

<p>BY REBECCA GIBB MW |&nbsp;JULY 27, 2023</p><p>In 2023, Sancerre will commemorate 450 years
since the siege of the town was lifted. The people of Sancerre, a haven for
Huguenots, resisted Catholic attacks and a blockade on the fortified town for over
nine months, with many of the townspeople dying of starvation within its walls.
Although the French army had tried
to storm the city numerous times and lost as many as 600 troops, the city held
out until it became part of a wider peace deal, ending the fourth war of religion.
At the time, Sancerre’s wine cellars were raided as part of reparations to King
Charles IX.</p><p><img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1690480176203-The+rooftops+above+Sancerre+looking+out+towards+the+vineyards+including+Les+Romains_copy.jpg"></p><p><i>The rooftops above Sancerre looking
out towards the vineyards, including Les Romains.</i><br></p><p>While the village’s fortifications were pulled
down, its lofty hilltop position now makes it the perfect vista over the
surrounding villages. With its latest harvest, Sancerre is mounting a charm
offensive, and it is on a large scale. Warm, dry conditions in 2022 created a
healthy and abundant crop which marked a contrast with 2021, when growers faced
an onslaught of frost, hail and rot. Tanks and barrels that had stood empty for
a year filled quickly as the vines provided bountiful yields.&nbsp;</p>

<p>Contrasting 2021, there was little trouble for
grape growers in 2022. The spring passed without incident despite a relatively
early bud break, but frost fighters were primarily given a rest. The vines were
in a fruitful mood, producing many buds, while a warm and dry spring ensured smooth
flowering. The only cause for concern was a few downpours caused by unusually
warm weather in June, which raised the risk of fungal disease. But the skies
remained clear throughout the rest of June, July and August, with four separate
heatwaves occurring (+35˚C), which caused the Le Trail de Sancerre (Sancerre’s annual
sporting event) organizers to bring forward the runners’ start time to early
morning to avoid the 40˚C afternoon temperatures.</p>

<p>The region headed towards an early harvest
under a blazing sun. There was certainly some water stress, but on September 6,
rain swelled the small, concentrated berries, leading to a larger harvest and a
few minor botrytis worries. Another hot and dry summer in Sancerre? Sounds like
2020 all over again. However, the wines are much better balanced in 2022. Yes, these
whites display ripe, often tropical fruit with few green Sauvignon characters
and have richness and charm, but alcohol levels are not excessive. You’re more
likely to find a wine with 13.5% alcohol in 2022 rather than 14.5% in 2019 and 2020,
which is a relief. It’s widely thought this resulted from the season’s
naturally higher crop load, which took longer to ripen its fruit. As Sebastien
Redde of Michel Redde explains, “If you have 35hL/ha, and it’s a hot year, you
make jam.” Acid levels are on the low side, providing gentle refreshment rather
than crispness, unlike 2021. In the better examples, which speak more clearly
of their site, the chalky texture of the different limestone-based soils and
the precision that comes from flint contribute tension when acid fails to
provide.&nbsp;</p><p><img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1690470970472-This+path+lies+on+the+fault+line+in+Sancerre+which+separates+the+limestone-based+vineyards+%28left%29+from+the+flint+terroir+%28right%29_FINAL2.jpg"></p><p><i>This path lies on the fault line in Sancerre which separates the limestone-based vineyards (left) from the flint terroir (right).</i><br></p><p>It was easier to make a good wine in 2022 than
it was in 2021, and the general standard is more consistent across the area.
That said, the best 2021s, which have spent extended time on lees and in bottle
before, are real diamonds that speak of a style of steely Sancerre that we had
almost written off after the warm vintages of 2018, 2019 and 2020. They have
laser-like precision and clarity with intense concentration and expression of
terroir. Two thousand and twenty-one may have come as a bit of a shock to
tastebuds after the previous three vintages, but if you like your Sauvignon
with a taut, herbal profile, then it is for you. Some winemakers look back at
2021 and shake their heads, while others now rue the high-in-alcohol wines of
2020. It’s not an approach Vincent Gaudry condones: “There are no bad vintages.
It’s just those growers
who have not adapted to the conditions properly.” Inevitably, plenty of wines
don’t justify their inflated price tag. The continued global demand for
Sancerre, and Pouilly-Fumé, means bulk prices are high, and value for money is
hard to find. There are far too many wines that lack concentration. Did they
pick too soon after the rain? Were yields too high? What’s more, there are far too
many Pouilly-Fumés that display a hard green edge despite the season. In
contrast, the lower-quality Sancerres retain a sense of charm and tenderness,
even at higher yields and with machine picking. A wine is the sum of its details.</p>

<p><span>Regarding winemaking in 2022, the alcoholic fermentations
were healthy but with low acidity levels. There was certainly an argument for
acidification. Higher pH levels meant that bacteria were more likely to have a
chance at success, and for those who choose to use little or no sulfur,
malolactic conversions were common. The malic acid levels in the grape were
low, minimizing its effect, although the occasional creamy notes do peek
through in some cuvées. A period on fine lees is a conventional part of making
Sancerre, but in 2021, some producers had gone a step further, stirring the
lees to add body and richness to the linear wines. Yet in 2022, nature provided
texture and plumpness, and <i>batonnage</i> was not in the cards.</span></p><p><i><img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1690479892661-Domaine+Didier+Dagueneau+remains+a+beacon+of+quality+in+Pouilly-Fum%C3%A9+despite+leaving+the+appellation._COVER+FINAL.jpg"></i></p><p><i>Despite leaving the appellation, Domaine Didier Dagueneau remains a beacon of quality in Pouilly-Fumé.</i><i><br></i></p><i></i><p><b>The River Runs Deep</b></p><p>The Loire River divides Sancerre from Pouilly-Fumé.
A bridge connects the two wine appellations at the Loire’s mid-way point. Sancerre
looks down from its elevated position in terms of its location and its current place
in the world of wine. It hasn’t always been the case, with the prestige of
Pouilly being higher at times, but Sancerre currently holds the trump card.</p><p>Producers within the two appellations give
differing opinions on why the general standard of Pouilly-Fumé isn’t as high as
Sancerre, from “too much machine harvesting” to a “lack of dynamism.” They also
attribute it to “a dispersed rather than cohesive community” and “an area run
by grape growers, not winemakers.” Nevertheless, global demand remains high, as
do bulk wine prices, giving little incentive to improve. Prices are generally
higher for Sancerre than Pouilly-Fumé. Its most famous producer, Domaine Didier
Dagueneau, now labels their wine as Vin de France, representing a significant loss
for the appellation’s prestige. It is not unfair to say that Pouilly-Fumé’s
most respected producers now sell their wines because of their own reputation,
not the appellation.</p>

<p>That’s a divide that deserves digging deeper into
and one I’ll attempt to tackle in my following report as I seek to understand further
the similarities and differences between two villages that share so much but sometimes
seem further than just a bridge apart.</p><p>The wines were mainly tasted in Sancerre and
Pouilly-Fumé, both at domaines and in a regionally organized collection of
samples.</p><p><i>© 2023, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.</i></p><p></p><p></p><hr><p><br></p><p><b>You Might Also Enjoy</b></p><p><span><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/sancerre-sees-red-dec-2022">Sancerre Sees Red</a>, Rebecca Gibb MW, December 2022</span><br></p><p><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/sancerre-finding-its-place-aug-2022">Sancerre: Finding Its Place</a>, Rebecca Gibb MW, August 2022<br></p><div><div><div><div><p><a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/sancerre-taking-the-temperature-aug-2021">Sancerre: Taking the Temperature</a>, Rebecca Gibb MW, August 2021<br></p><div><div><div><div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div><div><div></div></div></div>

Content

Engage

Vinous

Social