2025 Domaine Jean-Max Roger, Sancerre Blanc, Cuvée Les Caillottes, Loire Valley, France.
This brand new fresh off the boat 2025 Cuvée Les Caillottes Sancerre Blanc, from Domaine Jean-Max Roger, made by the two Roger brothers Thibault and Etienne, is a vibrant, light framed and pure terroir driven wine with tons of personality, complex depth and charm that is not usually found in the more normal AOC bottlings! I really am becoming a huge fan of this winery based Bué, and this pale greenish/staw hued and crisp mineral toned Sauvignon Blanc with its zingy lemon/lime, tart peach, gooseberry and melon fruits, along with its stony essence, delicate white flowers, leafy herbs and transparent nature is reason enough as to why. The grapes are whole cluster juiced, with an immediate gentle pneumatic pressing and a cold settlement for between 48 and 72 hours to drop out phenolics and solids before fermentation. The fermentation was done by all natural yeasts with temperature control in stainless steel to add to development of the complexity of aromas and promote freshness. The wine matures on the heavy lees of fermentation until the first racking which occurred between February and April, without malos, with the wine seeing a light finning and filtration, as well as cold stabilization to keep everything crisp and vibrant. The Sancerre bottlings or cuvées, made from their individual soil types typically, are then rested a few months in bottle and tasted before release to be sure each cuvée is ready to go. In the last few years I have had an opportunity to try many of these Jean-Max Roger wines and found them to be some of the most exciting stuff in Sancerre right now.
The Sancerre Blanc (region), as I have noted before, was one of France’s original AOCs being awarded in 1936, with the same area being designated for red wines later in the year 1959. The Loire Valley’s Sancerre region is also part of an outcropping of the ancient chalk that runs from the White Cliffs of Dover all the way down through Champagne and Chablis! The Jean-Max Roger estate the village of Bué was founded in the early 1970s, when Jean-Max Roger took over the 4 hectares of Sancerre vineyards left to him by his parents, which he operated with his wife, Nicole until now, with his sons Thibault and Etienne having truly defined the style here since taking control in 2005. The winery says that this Ccuvée Les Caillottes may be enjoyed on its own as an aperitif, though it is (best) showcased when matched with all types of seafood, including crustaceans, shellfish, and raw or cooked fish. It may also be paired with white meats (poultry, veal) and cheeses, with the classic goat’s milk “chevre” and or blue cheeses in particular. I like the authentic nature of these Jean-Max Roger wines, and each time I have them I like them more and more, with this fresh 2025 Sancerre Cuvée Les Caillottes being an excellent choice to start exploring the collection here! The even better side note to these Jean-Max Roger wines, both red (Pinot Noir) and white, is that they aged fantastically well and gain such depth and a beautiful secondary character, their basic version even has 10 years of life, while this Cuvée Les Caillottes should go even loner, and I do love Sauvignon Blanc when nicely matured. So, while delicious and tasty now, I would put a bottle at least away for a few years!
($36 Est.) 94 Points, grapelive