Sancerre: Taking the Temperature

BY REBECCA GIBB MW | AUGUST 31, 2021

Sancerre producers should have been celebrating. The fame of their wines as well as their picture-perfect hilltop home had earned Sancerre the title of France’s favorite village in late June 2021; following a poll of more than half a million people, the Sancerrois partied in the street when the news was announced on the television channel France 3. But the festivities didn’t do much to lift the spirits of local vignerons. “C’est de l’enfer [It’s hell],” remarked François Crochet, a producer in the Sancerre-producing village of Bué. It was only July, with a long way to go to the harvest finish line, but a combination of frost, hail and humidity –leading to a protracted battle with fungal disease – had already made it one of the most difficult seasons in living memory. Coupled with the challenges of selling wine and finding casual labor to work the vines during a global pandemic, as well as accommodate the influx of visitors that the best-in-France title had attracted, this was indeed hell in paradise. 

Looking back toward the hilltop town of Sancerre, voted France’s favorite village in 2021.

However, the fame of this medieval town, counting just 1,371 residents, goes far beyond a national television show prize, and it has wine to thank for its global recognition. Whether you’re in a wine shop in New York or New Zealand, the village name emblazoned on labels is Sancerre’s greatest global brand ambassador. While the rest of the Loire Valley relies on the domestic market for its success, with exports accounting for around 15% of total sales, almost seven in ten bottles of Sancerre sold are uncorked overseas; not far behind, around 50% of Pouilly-Fumé is drunk beyond France’s borders and consumers are willing to pay a premium to have it in their glass. 

But the climate has no respect for high-flying appellations or award-winning towns. It does not care if yields are halved, nor if Sauvignon Blanc tops 14.5% or even 15% alcohol, and that’s been all too common lately. The last three seasons, 2018, 2019 and 2020, suggest an unpredictable new normal for what has long been considered a cool-climate region.  While similarly oppressive years, such as 2009 and 2003, have come and gone, this triple whammy is a warning sign. This trio of seasons has presented a steep learning curve, and some producers have caught on more quickly than others. Those who picked earlier in 2019 and 2020, whether it’s the Pinards in the village of Bué, Jonathan Pabiot in Pouilly-Fumé or Jean-Philippe Agisson in Sury-en-Vaux, seem to have hit a sweet spot, finding ripeness while maintaining freshness. Harvesting in August would have been inconceivable even 30 years ago, but on August 28, 2020, the team at Domaine Vincent Pinard were out picking, and even that date should have been brought forward, as Florent Pinard suggested: “If I’m honest, if we had started two or three days earlier, the wines would have been even better.” 

Jean-Philippe Agisson, the winemaker for Didier Dagueneau, has launched his own label with his wife Stephanie, and the early releases are spectacular.

2020: The Season

The Pinard pickers weren’t the only ones to head into the vines brandishing secateurs at the end of August, although they were in the minority. An early harvest was always in the cards for the region, with an early kickoff to the season on April 5, one of the earliest budbursts on record. The momentum was maintained throughout the growing cycle, and according to the 10-year average, vine growth was 15 days ahead of where it ought to have been.