2016 Domaine Vacheron, Sancerre Rouge “Belle Dame” Loire Valley, France.
Without a doubt, Domaine Vacheron remains one of Sancerre’s most important and great modern estate with this new generation of winemakers, cousins Jean-Laurent and Jean-Dominique Vacheron, having now bringing even more seriousness to the wines here. Focusing on biodynamic viticulture and on individual vineyard parcels, that the Vacheron family has observed for generations, with the sole mission of taking the Sancerre terroir to new heights. That lead in said, I was blown away by this extraordinary 2016 vintage Belle Dame, 100% Pinot noir and/or, Sancerre Rouge that has aged beautifully and is drinking as elegant and poised as many top notch Premier Cru Burgundies with its gorgeous dark ruby hue in the glass, pretty floral aromatics and silky mineral toned palate and mature range of red fruits. A brilliant wine in a great place, showing off pure Pinot joy at this point with black cherry, earthy plum, strawberry and orange fruit on the medium body, along with cool stony notes, a touch of cinnamon, black tea, seeped rose petals and sassafras. Sancerre is capable of profound Pinot and this Belle Dame without question is one to search out, coming from what the winery calls a “Grand Cru” of Sancerre red wines, with vines set on pure flint soils, which gives Pinot Noir an extra level of refinement and a spice that is captivating. I’ve been enjoying Vacheron Sancerre for more than 20 years now, and while I usually only see the basic Sancerre Blanc, this Pinot bottlings are prized, making them tough gets these days, so I was grateful to have had a chance to try this nicely cellared Belle Dame! Domaine Vacheron, originally established back in 1900, remains, as mentioned above, a go to label with Loire Valley fans and Sancerre enthusiasts, from old school collectors to Taylor Swift, who recently brought a new and youthful audience to this region’s wines.
The Domaine Vacheron is a modern icon, making some of the Loire Valley’s best wines, and you can’t image a real Sancerre tasting event without their highly sought after Sauvignon Blanc. One of Sancerre’s leading winemaking clan, the Vacheron family, as importer North Berkeley Imports says, truly capture the soul of the place, from the family’s pioneering work in identifying and exploiting the region’s top terroirs to their leading position in biodynamic viticulture today, there are few if any artisans in Sancerre as exacting or as respected as they are. Jean-Laurent and Jean-Dominique’s great-grandfather Maurice Vacheron tended a few vines back when Sancerre was but a stop on a small village road, before his son, Jean, who was the first of the family to specialize in producing wine, paying particular attention to the influence of terroir on his Sauvignon Blanc vines. Later his son Denis was the one to bring international fame to this sleepy little area and made Vacheron Sancerre a must have in top restaurants around the globe, and he brought attention to the region’s Pinot Noir, with bottlings like this that rived the more famous Burgundy legends. The Vacheron’s follow natural winemaking practices and do everything on the Lunar cycle, crafting wines that are in harmony with the spirit of the place and the environment with no chemicals or manipulation in the vineyards or the cellar. The Belle Dame, first bottled in 1995, sourced from 50 year old vines on Silex soils, is all hand-harvested and carefully selected by clusters before going into the winery. It s fermented in upright wooden fermenting casks on indigenous yeasts, all de-stemmed with a lengthy cool maceration and gentle extraction. The Belle Dame is aged for close to 18 months in small French oak barrels, with mostly used wood, depending on vintage and bottled unfined and unfiltered. It goes without saying, you’ll have a hard time finding this one, but if so you’ll be wonderfully rewarded when you pop the cork here!
($62-75 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive