Domaine Vachercon - Sancerre Le Paradis 2021

Druva

Sauvignon Blanc

Tasting note

The Sancerre Le Paradis is bright yet intense, fresh and elegant on the intensely aromatic and slightly flinty nose. Round and intense yet also pure and fresh on the palate, this is a dense, compactly structured, persistently fruity and finely iodine-inflected Sancerre with a long, crisp and crunchy-mineral finish. The Paradis is a safe bet in dry and warm vintages due to its 40+-year-old vines in clay/limestone soils that are not too meager. Tasted in February 2021.

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The domain of Jean-Laurent and Jean-Dominique Vacheron, certified biodynamic since 2005 and farming 34 hectares of Sauvignon Blanc and 11 hectares of Pinot Noir in the Sancerre AOP, is producing world class white and also red wines predominantly yet not exclusively on silex soils. "Having inherited some of the most coveted parcels in the appellation – and being smart about current land purchases – the cousins are trying a Burgundian approach to Sancerre winemaking, with parcels being vinified by terroir and blends varying from year to year", as their US importer John-David Headrick comments. The style is based on 30-60+-year-old vines and favors full-bodied, deep and textural, always vertical and tensioned wines of great power and terroir expression. Already the generic Sancerre, coming from vines planted on the fault line between silex and caillottes (hard shards of limestone), is absolutely fabulous and always a Best Buy whereas the crus or vins de terroirs from the different lieux-dits vary from year to year and make it hard to find an all time favorite. Oh wait, I have one perhaps, Guigne Chèvre. This is from a north-facing site with a complex terroir of flint above a shallow layer of limestone and red clay. It’s a nervy wine with a pronounced citrus and herbal character. The 2019 is spectacular. Other favorites include Les Romains (it's here where everything started), Le Pavé (2019!) and Chambrates which comes from a plateau on limestone and red clay soils. It is a generous and richer Sancerre, yes, but due to its terroir with citric freshness and a mineral finish also in hot and early years. Try the 2015 which is simply spectacular and my favorite Sancerre from that vintage. Most of the white Sancerres are fermented and aged for about 12 months in large French oak foudres, partly (or entirely?) made by Franz Stockinger. Readers shouldn't miss to try the red wines since producing finest Pinot Noirs not that far from Burgundy is one of the goals of the cousins. 2017 was a great vintage for Pinot Noir here.I have tasted all the wines only recently which helped me a lot to better understand the different terroirs and their special talents especially when highlighted by the particular vintage. It's here where vintage and terroir communicate in the most humble way. That'a why label drinking is useless here. As long as you have a Vacheron in your glass you won't get disappointed.

Robert Parker Wine Advocate