Serge Laloue has always been one of our favourite winemakers in the Loire, making incredible Sancerre. His ‘Les Poitevinnes’ Cuvee is an elegant and complex expression of Sancerre, with concentrated Mirabelle plum and peach underpinned by delicate hints of liquorice, anise and mineral notes. The lovely rounded texture on the palate is beautifully framed by mineral freshness.
The grapes are grown in 0.55 hectares of vineyard within the estate, from vines with an average age of 30 to 35 years. The vines face a south-easterly orientation, maximising exposure to the sun to assist the ripening of the berries. The soils are predominantly calcareous clay, which typically has a high limestone content, producing elegant and textured wines with distinctive minerality. The vineyard is currently in conversion to organic status, a natural progression for the Laloue family as the farming methods used over many years have followed these principles. Vineyard management techniques include ploughing the soil instead of using herbicides, growing cover crops between the rows of vines and sexual confusion of predators, to maintain the health of the vines and the biodiversity of the environment.