Sancerre Les Calcaires 2018

LUCIEN CROCHET

Sancerre Les Calcaires
2018

Country
France
Regulated designation
Appellation origine controlée (AOC)
Region
Loire Valley
Varietal(s)
Sauvignon Blanc 100 %
Colour
White
Sugar
Dry
Producer's website
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About this winery

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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Product notes

A blend of grapes hailing from several plots of the estate. These plots feature Oxfordian limestones “caillottes” and “griottes.” Covered crops are are grown and prunced using Single Guyot. Organic fertilizers have been used since 1989.

Production notes

The grapes are handpicked and entire bunches of grapes are fed into a pneumatic presses via a conveyor belt. Light pneumatic pressing is performed. Cold settling for 24 to 36 hours at approximately 6°C. The wine was fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel vats with a small portion in oak barrels. The wine was fined racked and filtered before bottling.

Tasting notes

Notes of black currant and white fruit on the nose. Mineral (chalky notes of the terroir) and notes of citrus with nice acidity on the palate. Serve as an aperitif or match with freshwater fish, red mullet, and the local goat cheese, "Crottin de Chavignol."

Press reviews

Decanter

- 95 points -

June 2020

Gilles and Laurence Crochet have been running this pioneering domaine since 1983. Gilles' two grandfathers Lucien Picard and André Crochet merged their two businesses back in the 1950s and were one of the first estates to sell their wines to restaurants in Paris. Before taking on the management of the domaine, Gilles spent six years making wine in Burgundy to broaden his knowledge. The Les Calcaires hails from a series of plots on their 35 hectares of vineyards ranging from 240-280 metres above sea level and which feature 'Caillottes' and 'Griottes' limestone soils. Organic fertilisers have been used since 1989.

JB: Attractive vibrant fruit, fresh, finesse and complexity. Lovely wine - very clean and precise.

RG: Slightly sweaty rather reductive Sauvignon that expands on the mid palate but concludes with a linear, slightly sherbetty finish.

CK: Brilliant energy and aromatics here, massive focus and grip, acid precision too. A young wine set up for the cellar.

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Vinous

- 90 points -

Rebecca Gibb MW, August 2022 (Vintage 2019)

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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