2020 La Noue

Claude Riffault is a shining star in Sancerre, producing suave, texturally intriguing, seemingly effortless wines. Stéphane Riffault joined the family business in 2001 and was handed the keys to the estate in 2015. Riffault has implemented changes that have refined its wines, starting with the move to hand harvesting in 2008. In 2013, the family moved its 15 hectares to organics, achieving certification in 2016, which led to biodynamic conversion, starting in 2018 (2021 was the first fully biodynamic harvest). All the white wines (it does have 2 hectares of Pinot Noir) are fermented and aged in large wood. Malolactic fermentation is always avoided, and even its largest production wine – Les Boucauds – spends 10 months on lees, rising to 14 months for its single vineyards like Les Chasseignes, Les Denisottes and Les Chailloux, creating richly textured, lightly autolytic expressions. Most of the parcels are a theme on limestone, but Les Chailloux is grown on flint and gives a more upright structure. The estate has recently introduced two ‘monoparcelles’ – tiny parcels that spend 18 months on lees. Monoparcelle 469 is a sheltered vineyard facing south that the Riffaults acquired from a retiring vigneron who used to sell the grapes to the local cooperative. Two-thousand eighteen marked the first vintage. These 60-year-old vines provide a ripe, powerful style reflecting the warmth of the site. The other Monoparcelle 538 was formerly known as Les Desmalets. It is made in a structured style that deserves time in bottle. Every single cuvée, from its ‘entry-level’ Sancerre Blanc upwards, would happily sit in my glass.