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 2021: The weather pattern of the 2021 season in the Loire Valley reflected that of other northern French regions – though the frost problems of early April (and, in parts of the Loire, mid-April and early May too) were even more crippling here than elsewhere. In the Nantes region and in parts of Anjou, losses of 70% to 90% were common, but all regions (including Sancerre, often protected from frosts by its steep slopes) were affected. Flowering went well during a brief interlude of warmth in June, but June and July were otherwise cold and wet, and mildew caused further damage. There was another warm spell in mid-August but the rest of the month remained cool and challenging. Fine September and October weather helped salvage the harvest. The intensity and vivacity of the best white wines puts them a notch above the supple, fruity red wines.

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: Aromas of ripe, white peaches, floral notes of hawthorn & acacia, and a mineral flintiness. Concentrated gooseberry fruit flavours, all carefully balanced by a rich smokiness and steely dry palate with a lingering salinity. A mineral, elegant and long finish.