Sancerre Les Calcaires
2022
At Lucien Crochet the emphasis is on creating wines of finesse and complexity that are faithful to both terroir and vintage. The vineyards are located around the towns of Bué, Sancerre and Crézancy, the finest of which is the limestone-based Chêne Marchand vineyard. Gilles Crochet, Lucien's son, makes the wines as naturally as possible using indigenous yeasts. Through hand picking, careful selection of the grapes and long, slow ageing 'sur lie', Lucien Crochet produces sophisticated and...
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"Les Calcaires" by Lucien Crochet is a pure Sauvignon produced in one of the most prestigious and historic terroirs of origin: the Loire Valley. The deep and multifaceted minerality that characterizes the olfactory bouquet is an unmistakable feature of the calcareous soil of Buè, from which this label takes its name. The same flavor we find on the palate, more measured and enveloping.
The mild winter provokes an early budburst that occurs about 2 weeks ahead of a "normal" year. Warm and dry weather in May is providing ideal growing conditions for the vines that deliver a great performance to manage the vegetative growth. Perfect weather conditions as well for the flowering of the grape vines and finally, in June, welcomed rain arrives when already fears of drought start appearing. Everything’s going fine during veraison and the temperatures remain high until harvest that starts on the last day of August. First juices reveal the characteristics of a solar vintage likely to remain nicely balanced when aging.
Visual: golden yellow Nose: rather shy on opening, revealing a mineral top note. Saline and chalky scents appear, followed by pastry aromas and enhanced by an elegant hint of wood. On aeration, it releases notes of ripe lemon and orange. Palate: smooth and supple attack, offering a juicy mouthfeel delivered by flavours of yellow fruits. Generously textured and fleshy, freshness provided by the yellow fruit aromas. Warm finish perfectly balanced by the solid mineral backbone. There you feel the terroir! Serving temperature: 10 °C Food pairing: foil-baked sea bass, roasted guinea fowl with spices, veal stew.
Medium deep straw colour with a bright hue. Pure nose offering some chalky notes, fresh pale stone fruit, lemongrass, and mild toast. The palate combines good volume with a crisp acidity and mild extract, savoury young fruit with a fine gently creamy texture without heaviness, long and vigorous finish.
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Sourced from several parcels on the chalky, south-facing hillsides of Sancerre, this has an intensely mineral and saline nose that is faithfully reproduced on the palate, Chalky textured and linear, this is a deeply savoury, dry wine with a firm backbone of acidity that belies the warmth of the vintage. Very stylish.
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Known as La Croix du Roy, the 2019 Sancerre Calcaires is a highly floral style. The wine is round and ripe with a sense of tenderness through its middle. There's plentiful concentration here and an attractive covering of chalkiness. A light grip holds the wine together on the finish.
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