Sancerre blanc “Les Chailloux” AOC 2020 – Claude Riffault

The situation Les Chailloux comprises two plots totalling 0.6 hectares on a south-western exposure at an altitude of 250 metres. The vines are 40 to 47 years old and rooted in a silex soil not unlike that of Pouilly-Fumé. The grapes were harvested by hand, sorted and then very slowly pneumatically pressed. The clarification was done cool and by gravity. The juice was fermented spontaneously and matured on its lees for 14 months in wooden barrels made from multiple grapes. The yeast was stirred only sporadically.

pale straw yellow

The Sancerre »Les Chailloux" comes from soils with a high flint content, which is reflected in the wine with a delicate flint note. In addition, this is a bright, bell-clear wine on the nose, combining notes of lemons and limes with lily of the valley and physalis, white currants, chalk and green pears. Although there are many fruit aromas here, this is primarily a floral-scented wine, with a little iodine and yeast.

On the palate the Les Chailloux Similarly bright, also fragrant, but much tighter and more linear than could be guessed from the aroma. Lime and herbs, a little juniper like last year, but much less lush fruit, instead a lot of green to yellow citrus and a little ginger play a role here. What remains constant is the tonic, lively, energetic, which builds up pressure and pushes the Sauvignon Blanc further and further forward, which with its slight saltiness, this hint of salt lemon, directly makes you want to take the next sip.