My highlights from a Central Loire tasting of 60 Sauvignon Blancs held at London fine wine merchant The Sampler (pictured). The wines hailed from the 2010 vintage which I’d describe as very classic – i.e. good drive and acidity, the best with the concentration to match.
Domaine Catherine & Michel Langlois Coteaux du Giennois Les Charmes 2010 – good sweetness to its juicy gooseberry fruit with a cheesy, tangy acidity that I like. Forward and drinking really well now. Yum. 13%
Domaine de Villargeau Coteaux du Giennois 2010 – gently leafy with a whiff of gooseberry on the nose. In the mouth it’s quite restrained but with good bite behind its ripe, soft apple and juicy gooseberry fruit, plus an attractive hint of spicy bay leaf. 13%
Domaine Alain Mabillot Reuilly 2010 – crisp apple and gooseberry which follow through on a steely, linear palate. Long, persistent and refreshing with grapefruit sorbet-like purity to the finish. Very good. 13%
Domaine Claude Lafond Reuilly La Raie 2010 – crisp and flinty with fresh apple and grapefruit, some breadth too. Good. 13%
Domaine de Chevilly Quincy 2010 – good attack, drive and persistence to its blackcurrant bud “fruit”. Very crisp and on the cusp of ripeness but pulls it off. 12.5%
Domaine Adèle Rouzé Quincy Les Vignes d’Adèle 2010 – good fruit and freshness with vibrant gooseberry and zingy grapefruit – persistent finish. 12.5%
Domaine Roux Quincy 2010 – good penetration and tangy, leesy breadth of flavour with a core of fresh pear fruit. 13%
Domaine Lecomte Quincy 2010 – a reduced toasty/struck match quality to the nose though the palate shows a good weight of blackcurrant bud and ripe but juicy gooseberry fruit. 13%
Domaine de Champarlan Menetou-Salon 2010 – ripe, tangy apples and pears on nose and silky palate – fluid and long. 12.5%
Le Prieuré de St Céols Menetou-Salon 2010 – a lively, juicy palate with blackcurrant bud, green apple bite and good persistence. Well done. 13%
Domaine Chavet Menetou-Salon 2010 – shows good depth and weight of tangy, leesy white orchard fruits. Just a tad sticky/sweaty on the finsih.13%
Domaine Pellé Menetou-Salon Morogues 2010 – creamy, leesy complex palate with fruit salad flavours but lovely vibrancy to balance. Long persistent finish – that’s how to do it (a richer, riper style), at 12.5% too!
Domaine Alain Cailbourdin Pouilly Fumé Les Cris 2010 – some toasty reduction on the nose with a good depth of tangy gooseberry fruit and a hint of creamy yoghurt. Good, long and complex. 13%
Domaine Chauveau Pouilly Fumé La Charmette 2010 – shows an abundance of sweet ripe fruit – apple, white peach, gooseberry and fruit salad while maintaining a level, cool balance. Nice persistence, length and finesse. 13%
Michel Redde et Fils Pouilly Fumé Petit Fumé 2010 – tangy apple and grapefruit on the nose is amplified in the very tangy, leesy mouth, with its core of sugared breakfast grapefruit. Good. 13%
Domaine Tinel-Blondelet Pouilly Fumé Arrêt Buffate 2010 – a lovely rich depth of fruit – peach and fruit salad – to this wine, which has beautiful balance with its persistent, juicy long finish. Very good [star] 12.5%
Domaine Châtelain Pouilly Fumé Harmonie 2010 – ripe applely fruit to the nose and palate with a sour quality which extends the finish and adds interest. Very tangy and very long. [star]
Domaine Daniel Crochet Sancerre 2010 – a ripe white peach and apple nose. Great depth and breadth of flavour on the muscular palate with apple close to the core and grapefruit lending balance to its stone fruits. Long, persistent finish. Very good [star – big star for modern style] 13.5%
Domaine Gérard Morin Sancerre 2010 – ripe applely fruit with juicy white peach and, though lively, long and persistent going through, the finish has that fresh fig sticky touch. I’d have preferred a cleaner, tighter finish but it might appeal to some. 13%
Domaine Claude Riffault Les Chasseignes Sancerre 2010 – very crisp, tight, grapefruity despite the abv (14%) with great intensity, persistence and length. Very good. 14% [star]
Vin d’Homme Dionysia Sancerre 2010 – tight, bright and grapefruity, with good persistence, animation and length. Good. 12.5%
Domaine Bernard Fleuriet et Fils Sancerre 2010 – well concentrated, round yet fresh with gooseberry, golden delicious a hint of fig and nice leafy length. Good.12.5%
Domaine Yves et Pierre Martin Sancerre 2010 – really good depth of flavour and intensity with some breadth and minerality – tres Chavignol! 13%
Domaine Henry Natter Sancerre Les Classiques 2010 – tight greengage fruit, sour yellow plum, very bright, tight, fruity. 13%
Domaine Philippe Raimbault Apud Sariacum Sancerre 2010 – juicy, tangy gooseberry with some leafy blackcurrant bud notes and a savoury, leesy, long finish. 12.5%
Domaine Michel Vattan Argile Sancerre 2010 – white peach, fresh figgy and attractive leafy lift and spice with blackcurrant bud and bay leaf. Good length.12.5%
Domaine Matthias et Emile Roblin Sancerre Origine 2010 – a leesy nose and super-linear palate with crunchy apple and lots of bite to its juicy, persistent palate. Very classic, very good.
David Sautereau Sancerre 2010 – a really juicy, attractive palate with good purity of ripe but sappy applely fruit. 12.5%
Domaine Thomas-Labaille Sancerre L’authentique 2010 – a fresh nose and palate with lots of bite, good depth of flavour, persistence and length – the package – really well done. 12.5%
Domaine André Vatan Sancerre Les Perriers 2010 – quite closed with tight blackcurrant bud notes to its juicy, tangy, leesy and long palate. Needs time but great structure. 13%
Domaine Raimbault-Pineau Sancerre 2010 – bright and crisp with sorbet-like grapefruit and gooseberry and lifted fresh herbs hints. 12.5%
Wines from Vacheron and Alphonse Mellot were not shown, but click here and here for my post-Loire Salon 2011 reports on their latest releases.
Finally, click here to find out more about the Central Loire – its wines and regions.
Sarah Ahmed
The Wine Detective
(Wines tasted 30 March 2011)
