2025 La Camensarde, Sancerre Blanc, Loire Valley, France.
This was my first sampling of the La Camensarde Sancerre, a steely crisp, citrusy bright and delicately aromatic pure Sauvignon Blanc from a collaborative négociant project in the village of Bué in the heart of France’s Loire Valley. Vinified exclusively in stainless steel this fresh, pale straw colored Loire white revolves around a core of mineral toned lemon/lime, tart peach and subtle gooseberry fruit, and has a light background of leafy herbs, white blossoms, wet shale and almond. This wine is simple, but in the best way, with a I’m trying to hard attitude and a laid back easy to be comfortable with personality in the glass, perfect for Summer dinning.
This wine is the collaboration of some of the Sancerre appellation’s most famous and familiar names, including Jean-Max Roger, Lucien Crochet, Morin, and Pinard, who have worked with various growers to produce this La Camensarde. Bué lies southwest of the village of Sancerre itself, no more than a few minutes away by car and is situated on the left bank of the Loire river, and it is here that you’ll find some of the regions best Sauvignon Blanc vines and producers. Most recently, I’ve been enjoying the profound efforts of Jean-Max Roger, one of the ring leaders here, and while this wine is more of an entry level bottling, it shows the purity and terroir driven character of many more expensive efforts and I can highly recommend it to those wanting to search out a tasty baseline Sancerre with a classic flavor profile.
($29 Est.) 91 Points, grapelive