The Beautiful Sancerres of Vincent Gaudry!

5/20/21 -

Sancerre is one of those French appellations, like Chablis, that sells by itself - easy to pronounce (unlike Bourgueil) and reliably inoffensive, even poorly made wines sell like crazy in restaurants and growers have little incentive to work well in the vines and more naturally in the cellar. Happily there are a few producers who proudly work differently, producing distinctive wines of terroir, and over the last few years our favorite has been the soft-spoken and thoughtful Vincent Gaudry. Vincent took over the family estate in 1990 at the age of 16 (!) and soon converted the 9 hectares to organic and then Biodynamic farming. There are eight hectares of Sauvignon Blanc and one of Pinot Noir and Pinot Fin, on the three main soil types of Sancerre. New plantings are all massale selection from a parcel of 90 year-old vines, harvesting is by hand, fermentations are with wild yeasts and aging is in vat or old barrels. Two of Vincent's superb 2019s have just arrived: the "Melodie de Vieilles Vignes" from 50+ year-old vines on clay/limestone (Terres Blanches) soils, and the 2019 "Constellation du Scorpion," from a small parcel of old massale selection vines on silex soils over limestone that is fermented and aged in old barrels. Both of these outstanding Sancerres will drink beautifully now and over the next five to ten years. These are "serious" wines that are highly recommended, and much loved by our friend Pascaline Lepeltier of Racines NY (Meilleure Sommelier de France 2018, MOF), see her notes below. (And look out for the superb Gaudry red Sancerres (Pinot Noir and Pinot Fin), arriving later this spring.)