Domaine Vacheron was established in 1900. The Vacherons without question are Sancerre’s leading winemaking clan. From the family’s pioneering work in identifying and exploring the region’s top terroirs to their leading position in biodynamic viticulture, there are few if any artisans today in Sancerre as exacting or as respected. The estate’s peerless older vines, planted and cultivated by generations of family members, are cared for fastidiously. Yet it is the their single- vineyard wines—terroir-based selections recalling the painstaking work of Burgundian monks in the Côte d’Or—that have shown the world the heights and complexity that Sancerre can reach.

A full south-facing vineyard. ‘Les Romains’ was one of the domaine’s first ‘single-vineyard’ bottlings, the first vintage was 1997. Pure flint soils, rich in fossilized material; such soils contribute a minerality and smokiness to the wine.

Weather in 2019: A mild late winter was followed by a long cold spell in April and May with a least five episodes of frost between April 4th and May 6th. The worst affected regions were Muscadet and Anjou; further east, the frosts were less severe, with little damage in Pouilly-Fumé -- and Sancerre emerging unscathed. The cold and rainy conditions lasted through flowering in June, though, with most growers reporting at least some losses due to coulure. Late June, here as elsewhere, saw a switch to hot, dry weather – and in contrast to other regions of France, the Loire valley had a dry August, too; many Loire growers saw no rain at all between the second half of June and the second half of September. This posed problems for some growers with sandy soils (as in parts of Chinon), and heat spikes in late June and July caused some sunburn issues. In general, though, growers are as happy with their 2019 harvest as they were with the 2018 harvest; indeed dry whites may be even better in 2019 than they were in 2018.

Harvest is exclusively by hand. Grapes are fermented on indigenous yeasts in a combination of stainless-steel or cement tanks and wooden, open-top fermenters.

Technical Information:
Grape: 100% Sauvignon Blanc
Region: France | Loire Valley | Sancerre
Alcohol: 13 %
Closure: Cork
Drink: Now to 5 Years+

Tasting Note: 2019 Sancerre Les Romains offers a pure yet intense and iodine-scented bouquet of shells and oysters along with algae aromas. Full-bodied, rich and powerful on the palate, this is an elegant, refined, balanced and refreshingly mineral Les Romains with a long, juicy, pretty aromatic, seriously structured and persistent salty finish with stimulating grip. Impressive, as always. - Tasting note by Stephen Reinhardt