This Sauvignon, a clear colour with a golden tint, gives off aromas of white blossom and beeswax. Round, full and lively, it is fresh and has a delicate finish in the mouth.
Loire
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2020 Valencay ‘Le Claux Delorme’, Domaines Minchin
£1700Add to BasketBright aromas of citrus zest, peach and pear are complemented by hints of eucalyptus and a distinctive minerality. Refreshing and beautifully balanced, with citrus and floral notes leading a long, elegant finish.
Valençay became an AOC appellation in 2003 and is situated in the eastern part of the Loire Valley, approximately 60 miles west of Sancerre. The terroir is characterised by clay, limestone and flinty soils which impart the distinctive mineral characters to the wine. The region is influenced by the northern, cool climate, resulting in lively wines from grapes with characteristic high levels of acidity. Domaine Minchin is certified by Haute Valeur Environmentale and the vineyards are managed according to a strict sustainable philosophy, known as la lutte raisonnée. The vineyard is planted with grass, and the soil is tilled and worked to ensure the health and vigour of the vine, while encouraging beneficial biodiversity.
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2022 Pouilly Fume ‘Les Loges’, Domaine des Rabichattes
£2495Add to BasketLes Loges is a complex and harmonious Pouilly Fumé. This traditional cuvée is the result of a blend of around thirty plots with clay-limestone soils and Kimmeridgian marls.
In the glass, this wine opens with a varied bouquet of white flowers, lemon, green fresh herbs and a fresh mineral touch. The palate is invigorating and crystalline with a touch of saltiness that is characteristic of Pouilly’s great wines.
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2023 Sancerre, J. de Villebois
£2795Add to BasketA textured and richly flavoured Sancerre with intense herbaceous, gooseberry and citrus aromas, beautifully balanced by a vibrant and refreshing crisp palate.
The Sancerre appellation in Central France surrounds the eponymous town, which sits atop a hill overlooking the River Loire. The grapes for this cuvée are grown in vineyards which are located on these hilly slopes and are planted across the three main soil types of Sancerre. Les Caillottes, which is made up of a high proportion of stony fragments of coarse Kimmeridgian limestone upon a clay subsoil and the wines from these soils impart aromatic structure and freshness; Les Terres Blanches which are made up of Kimmeridgian marl and is extremely rich in fossilised shellfish and has the distinctive characteristic of turning white when it dries, hence its local name, which translates as ‘white earth’. These wines from this soil offer complexity, opulence and great aromatic finesse. Finally the flinty Silex soils which impart minerality; all three soils types have the common thread of a high proportion of clay.
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2023 Pouilly-Fumé, J. de Villebois
£2795Add to BasketThe subtle combination of smoky and ripe fruit aromas preludes a palate of candied pineapple, peach and mango flavours. Elegant and fresh, with the characteristic smoky note of a great Pouilly Fumé.
Pouilly-Fumé is the Sauvignon Blanc appellation located on the Right Bank of the Loire River. The appellation was created in 1937 originally as Blanc Fumé de Pouilly. Pouilly- Fumé takes its name from Pouilly-sur-Loire, the village from which the wines originate; while ‘Fume’ refers to Blanc Fumé, the local synonym for Sauvignon Blanc. Fumé translates as ‘smoky’, which denotes the struck gunflint notes that characterise the wines. The Sauvignon Blanc grapes that produced this cuvée are grown on the main Pouilly Fumé terroirs of Villiers and Barrois, where the soils are made up of limestone, marls with oyster shells and clayey-flint ‘Silex’ soils. It is these flinty ‘Silex’ soils, which impart the characteristic smoky flavours in the wine.
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2022 Sancerre ‘Les Poitevinnes’, Domaine Serge Laloue
£3300Add to BasketSerge 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.
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2022 Sancerre Cuvee Silex, Domaine Serge Laloue
£3495Add to BasketSerge Laloue has always been one of our favourite winemakers in the Loire, making incredible Sancerre. This we think is their finest Cuvee, crafted by Franck Laloue the Sancerre Silex has intense aromas of smoky graphite with mineral notes of oyster shell that are complemented by zesty orange peel and Mirabelle plum. This fresh, supple cuvée delivers concentrated citrus flavours through to a bright and uplifting mineral finish.
The grapes come from a three-hectare estate vineyard, where the vines have an average age of 40 years, producing low yields of concentrated fruit. The vines face a south-easterly orientation, maximising exposure to the sun to assist ripening of the berries. The soils are ‘silex’, a flinty clay that produces elegant wines with distinctive graphite and mineral characters. 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.
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White Wine2020 Sancerre ‘Terre de Silex’, Chateau de Sancerre
£3595Add to BasketA fresh, invigorating and mineral expression of Sancerre from the famous Silex soils, this stunning cuvée shows beautiful structure and longevity.
The 55-hectare estate comprises 93 different plots over the five villages of Thauvenay, Ménétréol, Bué, Sancerre and Crézancy. This combination offers the possibility to select from the best plots from a range of terroirs with distinct mesoclimates, resulting in complexity in the wine. The region’s rolling hills and semi-continental climate produce beautifully structured Sauvignon Blancs that are crisp and fresh, evoking aromas of ripe gooseberries, smoke and gunflint notes. The grapes for this cuvée come from two plots rich in clay and with a high flint content, known as Silex. Silex is a type of sedimentary soil which is rich in flint; renowned for imbuing the wines with a distinctive flinty, mineral character.
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White Wine2020 Sancerre Silex, J. de Villebois
£4250Add to BasketIn the glass Striking, aromatic notes of flint, blackcurrant and lemon lead to a mineral-rich palate. Beautifully balanced with a crisp, refreshing finish.
The Sauvignon Blanc grapes for the Silex cuvée are grown in the famous ‘Silex’ soils of Sancerre, which are made up of clay-siliceous soils composed of flint (Silex), clay and siliceous conglomerates. The sought-after Silex soils make up just 20% of the Sancerre appellation and are considered as ‘early-ripening soil’ as the flinty stones capture the heat from the sun during the day and radiate it at night, which helps to accelerate the maturity of the grapes. This is beneficial is such a cool, continental climate, where the Sauvignon Blanc retains its hallmark acidity, as it offers balance to the wines. The grapes for this cuvée come from hillside plots, where the vines are over 35 years old.
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White Wine
2022 Sancerre ‘Terre de Silex’, Chateau de Sancerre
£4600Add to BasketA fresh, invigorating and mineral expression of Sancerre from the famous Silex soils, this stunning cuvée shows beautiful structure and longevity.
The 55-hectare estate comprises 93 different plots over the five villages of Thauvenay, Ménétréol, Bué, Sancerre and Crézancy. This combination offers the possibility to select from the best plots from a range of terroirs with distinct mesoclimates, resulting in complexity in the wine. The region’s rolling hills and semi-continental climate produce beautifully structured Sauvignon Blancs that are crisp and fresh, evoking aromas of ripe gooseberries, smoke and gunflint notes. The grapes for this cuvée come from two plots rich in clay and with a high flint content, known as Silex. Silex is a type of sedimentary soil which is rich in flint; renowned for imbuing the wines with a distinctive flinty, mineral character.
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2020 Blanc Etc, Domaine Didier Dagueneau
£12700Add to BasketPouilly Fumé and Sancerre are the global benchmarks for Sauvignon Blanc, and there is no bigger name or more highly regarded producer in the area than Domaine Didier Dagueneau. Now under the guidance of Didier’s talented son Louis-Benjamin, the wines still follow his ethos that authentic Pouilly Fumé requires healthy fruit from low yielding, old vines to produce the purest, and most intense and vibrantly fresh wine. That’s not to say these wines are typical of the appellation. Given the severely low yields and approach to élevage, Dagueneau wines emphasise a creamy texture rather than bracing acidity, and combine mineral flavours with exotic fruits to supreme effect.
Previously labelled as Blanc Fumé de Pouilly, now reborn as Blanc Etc… and looking better than ever. Generally speaking this is the most approachable wine in the range, and since Louis-Benjamin came aboard the wine is now far closer in quality and class to the other releases. While each of the other wine focus on a single soil type or terroir, Blanc etc… blends some young vine parcels on their Saint-Andelain hill with two parcels planted on flinty clay and limestone white clay soils nearby. It was fermented in a mix of new and three-four year old barrels and then matured in both wood and tank.
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2020 Pouilly Fume Pur Sang, Domaine Didier Dagueneau
£14900Add to BasketPouilly Fumé and Sancerre are the global benchmarks for Sauvignon Blanc, and there is no bigger name or more highly regarded producer in the area than Domaine Didier Dagueneau. Now under the guidance of Didier’s talented son Louis-Benjamin, the wines still follow his ethos that authentic Pouilly Fumé requires healthy fruit from low yielding, old vines to produce the purest, and most intense and vibrantly fresh wine. That’s not to say these wines are typical of the appellation. Given the severely low yields and approach to élevage, Dagueneau wines emphasise a creamy texture rather than bracing acidity, and combine mineral flavours with exotic fruits to supreme effect.
Pur Sang is a superstar in the Dagueneau cellar, and is widely considered one of the great white wines of the world.
Pur Sang translates as thoroughbred, this wine coming from a densely planted, 30-year-old vineyard called La Folie, five kilometres north of Saint-Andélain. Hidden between two parcels of woodland, the vineyard – whose name literally translates as `madness` – is named for the local farmers who thought Didier Dagueneau was crazy when he purchased the land, which was not a vineyard and was full of huge boulders. It was not even registered as part of the Pouilly-Fumé appellation. But Didier had done his homework, as not only was La Folie an historical Pouilly vineyard, but its vein of pure flint, as well as its gently sloping, south/south-east exposure, made it potentially one of Pouilly’s finest. Very pale colour, aromas recall grilled pink grapefruit with a hint of white peach – beautifully expressive. Palate is full, having a rich, floral, complex, aromatic core, creamy texture, and a satisfyingly long finish.
