Lucien Crochet Sancerre 2023

Alcohol: 13.5%

Grape(s): Sauvignon Blanc

Localization: Loire Valley, France

Tasting Notes: The estate's village-level offering ties pungeancy of fruit and concentration of flavor to the minerality and herbacious qualities that make its Sancerrois origins unmistakable.

Notes: The grapes for this basic cuvée of Sancerre are sourced from the vineyards in Bué, Vinon and Crézancy. After harvest, fermentation is done in stainless steel cuves at temperatures between 14 and 18 degrees Celsius. As with all the whites at the domaine, this wine sits in contact with the fine lies for a considerable period of time with the racking being done late in the spring following harvest. The first bottling occurs no earlier than July and frequently does not occur until September of the year following harvest.

The Domain: Domaine Lucien Crochet stems from the fusion of the winegrowing estates of André Crochet (Lucien’s father) and Lucien Picard (his father-in-law). The latter was one of the pioneers of bottling in the Sancerre region and one of the first to sell his Sancerre wines in Paris in the early 1950s.

Lucien Crochet expanded the estate over the last thirty years to its current surface area of 38 hectares. His son, Gilles, now runs the estate. 29 hectares are planted with Sauvignon Blanc. It is with these grapes that they produce their range of white wines. The remaining 9 hectares are planted with Pinot Noir which go into the making of the red and rosé wines.

Most of Lucien Crochet's vineyards are located within the village of Bué, with some in the neighbouring communes of Sancerre, Crézancy and Vinon. The soil and subsoil are clay-limestone based and date back to the Oxfordian and Kimmeridgian stages.

Most of the vines face south, south-west and south-east, giving the grapes maximum exposure to the summer sun.