2021 La Belle Endormie

New talent alert: Stephanie and Jean-Philippe Agisson have made some of the most delicate, harmonious wines in the appellation in 2019 and 2020. Jean-Philippe has a serious CV – he’s the current winemaker at Didier Dagueneau, having spent 12 years at Alphonse Mellot (2006-2018). In 2017, he launched his label with his wife, whose uncle owned the vineyards they now manage in the village of Sury-en-Vaux. The pair farm 1ha in Sancerre and produced their first wine, Equilibre, in 2017, which was grown on Kimmeridgian soils. In 2020, they added a Pouilly-Fumé, La Belle Endormie, sourced from a 0.5ha plot on Portlandian soils. The barrel samples were breathtaking: transparent and finely structured with delicate aromatics. The couple also makes a red Sancerre, which is delicate and floral with a decent proportion of whole bunch lending lift and structure, but the whites are currently the stars. Sury-en-Vaux has long been overshadowed by other villages like Bué and Chavignol, as many of its growers have sold their fruit to cooperatives and larger producers. Still, with the Agissons, Claude Riffault and more, Sury’s star is rising.