2022 Domaine Vacheron - Sancerre Rouge 'Les Marnes' (750ml)

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Burgundy isn’t the only French address for impressive Pinot Noir. If you haven’t yet sampled a well-made Sancerre rouge, you’re missing out on one of Sancerre’s best kept secrets!

Few estates have worked harder to elevate Sancerre’s standing than Jean-Laurent and Jean-Dominique Vacheron. The Loire was previously industrially farmed and machine-harvested, and the soils needed all the help the Vacheron family could muster. After earning biodynamic certification in 2005, they began bolstering the quality of their soil with hand-made composts.

There are a few other secrets to Vacheron’s success. Aside from beginning to manually harvest their fruit, one of the secrets was an investment in upright wooden tanks for their reds to age in; this led to a huge gain in the texture of their Pinot. Vacheron typically ages their wines far longer (1 or 2 years) than many in the region. The Vacheron’s other secret is their shockingly low yields. Severe sorting is critical for wines of distinction, and one can imagine how hard it is to sacrifice a meaningful pile of fruit after fighting all year for it.

This is only the second time “Les Marnes” has been made available to the NY state market. This is the latest single-vineyard selection from this property.  It is a unique Pinot Noir from “marne de crétacée” limestone soils (loamy, clay-rich soils with lots of ancient seashells).  This is a very rare terroir that’s almost only found in Sancerre, but even within Sancerre it is hardly ever encountered in such a heavy concentration.  The result is a fresh, yet full-bodied wine, rich in mineral notes and red fruits.  There just isn’t much of this produced—quite a rare bird!