Description
Domaine Vacheron, Sancerre Rouge
Imagine if you could cherry-pick the best qualities of famous regions to concoct the ultimate Pinot Noir “super brew.” After ensuring my base was 100% biodynamic fruit, I’d start blending in Sonoma Valley luxuriance, Willamette Valley precision, and Chambolle’s alluring combination of perfume and minerality. The tantalizing results would be a carbon copy of Domaine Vacheron’s 2019 Pinot Noir and would cause an uproar in the Burgundy-drinking community.
We’ve long thought this is as good as Sancerre Rouge gets, and we’ve consistently put it to the test. In fact, if you were to select any of France’s Pinot-producing villages and call upon their top <$60 bottlings, Vacheron would challenge them all, trounce several, and embarrass many. At this point, we’ve offered almost every wine from Vacheron, as their biodynamic gems are widely considered gold standards that transcend expectations for this hallowed grape and place. Need further evidence? Several years ago, when we asked Master Sommelier and California winemaker Chris Miller to give his two cents on Vacheron Rouge, here’s what he said: “As a Pinot Noir producer and sommelier, I’d place this wine among the world’s benchmarks for the variety. That it remains so reasonably priced, given Vacheron’s deserved place among the elite, is a delicious bonus.” There you have it.
NOTE: A second Vacheron treat is coming your way this afternoon. Be on the lookout!
A common refrain you hear from great winegrowers is that you plant vineyards not for yourself, but for your children. Established in 1900, the third generation—cousins Jean-Dominique and Jean-Laurent Vacheron—now oversees its 50 hectares across Sancerre’s top climats, of which only 11 are dedicated to Pinot Noir. Most of the vines cling to hillsides composed of chalk and flint (a unique regional composition going under the local ‘silex’ moniker) and range from 30-50 years of age. The vineyards have been Certified Organic and Biodynamic since the early 2000s; only natural compost fertilizers are utilized, and no synthetic materials are allowed inside the vineyards. These old vines eke out mineral-laden grapes that teeter on the fulcrum of ripeness, just a few hours west of Burgundy.
Come harvest, all grapes for their Sancerre Rouge are hand-harvested and brought into the cellar for a gentle maceration. Natural yeast fermentation takes place in wooden vats and stainless steel before settling into mostly used barriques and large foudres—some as old as the domaine itself. The wines go into the bottle unfined, unfiltered, and full of life. Not much else to be said about the winemaking, as all the real work has already been done in the previous 11 months leading up to harvest.
After decanting Vacheron’s 2019 for no less than 30 minutes, serve in Burgundy stems at 60 degrees. The combination of finesse, depth of flavor, and perfume of this Sancerre Rouge is simply stunning! It is at once lush, tense, silky, and nervy. Black cherries of perfect ripeness come roaring out of the glass followed by dewy rose petal, raspberry, wild strawberry, redcurrant, pomegranete seed, underbrush, crushed stone, clove, and smoked plum. There is a sappy richness to the fruit on the medium-bodied palate but also fine textures and tons of perfume on the mineral-studded finish. Enjoy now and over the next five years.
