EN 
DE 
FR 
IT Showing all 3 results
Claude Riffault
They still exist, these remarkable discoveries in a wine region that one might think has long been thoroughly explored. At Domaine Claude Riffault, the style and quality have changed remarkably over recent years. Stéphane and Bénédicte Riffault are responsible for this transformation.
His wines have a very distinctive style. On the one hand they are fruity, on the other hand their structure is crystal clear and pure. They are neither overwhelmed with reductive notes, as one increasingly finds along the Loire, nor are they marked by wood – although Stéphane ages all his vineyard site and parcel wines in wood. Multi-year tonneaux provide the foundation for the desired texture here.
More about Claude Riffault
Meaty, sensual, minerallic
The quality of the fruit is truly remarkable and reminds one above all of the fruit from old orchards with historic apple and pear varieties. The grassy character, the pyrazine and the gooseberry aromatics are not particularly appreciated by Stéphane. His wines come across as rather meaty, almost opulent and sensual, yet remain minerallic, very clear and distinctly open. What you notice alongside the precise and yet ripe acidity is the spice of the Sancerres, which reflects the stone of the vineyard sites just as much as herbs and bitter citrus notes. You can enjoy all the wines young with great pleasure, but especially with the Monoparcelles you should be curious to see how they will develop over time.
Four generations in Sury-en-Vaux
Stéphane's great-grandfather founded the estate as a mixed farm in the tiny hamlet of Sury-en-Vaux, which nobody would know about were it not also the home of winemaker Vincent Gaudry. Grandfather Henri then converted entirely to wine production, and Stéphane's father Claude joined in during the 1980s. Stéphane himself studied in Beaune and then trained under Olivier Leflaive, whilst his brother went to Domaine Etienne Sauzet, fell in love with Emilie there and stayed – today he runs the renowned Domaine.
The connections to Burgundy are therefore close, especially since Stéphane's wife Bénédicte also comes from there. After his time in Burgundy, the winemaker spent some years in Bordeaux at Château Angélus before returning home in 2001. When his father Claude retired, Stéphane was able to take over the running of the estate. This included the conversion to organic farming, which was completed in 2016 with ECOCERT certification. Since 2017, the Domaine has also been BIODYVIN-certified.
All three terroirs of Sancerre
The Domaine today encompasses 15.5 hectares of vineyard with 12.5 hectares of Sauvignon Blanc and three hectares of Pinot Noir. All variants of the three most important soil types are found here: Terres blanches, Caillottes and Silex.
The Les Boucauds comprises nearly half of the holdings and is characterised by the Terres blanches, a weathered Saint-Doulchard marl with high quantities of Exogyra virgula oysters. On these soils, fruity, quickly accessible wines develop. The Les Chasseignes comes from the Caillottes soils – characterised by Calcaire à Astéries from fossil starfish as well as Calcaire de Tonnerre, a porous limestone. Both limestone types combine here and produce robust and full-bodied wines.
Monoparcelles – precision as principle
Stéphane has phased out some cuvées that his father had initiated in order to address the frequently changing terroir even more precisely with the Monoparcelles. The Les Denisottes comes from vines near the winery on Kimmeridge limestone with light calcareous loam. The Les Chailloux is characterised by the rare Silex, as one also finds in Pouilly-Fumé.
Stéphane has abandoned two vineyard wines in favour of Monoparcelle 469 and Monoparcelle 538. These parcels each form the core of the former vineyard wines and represent the terroir more precisely. And that is exactly what matters to Stéphane Riffault: precision.
For those wishing to explore the subject of Sancerre further, you will find another biodynamic top winery from the region at Domaine Vacheron.