Domaine de la Villaudiere Sancerre Rouge 2018
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With a strong garnet hue with crimson highlights, this wine opens with a bouquet which is a delectable blend of ripe red fruits (blackcurrant, blackberry). Supple on entry, with noticeable maturing tannins on the finish, the wine confirms the elegance of this light, fruity Sancerre on the palate.
This red Sancerre goes perfectly with white meat, small game or cheese.
Handed down through several generations, Domaine de la Villaudiere's 15 hectare family estate is surrounded by vineyards and overlooks the pretty village of Verdigny. This unique location offers stunning views of the famous Sancerre hill and its vineyards. Today Jean-Marie Reverdy has followed his calling and manages a flourishing Domaine de la Villaudiere with his wife, Catherine and their son, Guillaume. The youngest son, Baptiste also shares a love of wine growing and winemaking. Once he has finished his studies, he intends to play his part in the family business.
Patience, perseverance and precision are the bywords of all those involved in Domaine de la Villaudiere. From the management of the vineyards to the production of the wines, each individual perpetuates and builds on the work begun by previous generations. A blend of authenticity and modernity, these guiding principles are rigorously respected every day.
Thin-skinned, finicky and temperamental, Pinot Noir is also one of the most rewarding grapes to grow and remains a labor of love for some of the greatest vignerons in Burgundy. Fairly adaptable but highly reflective of the environment in which it is grown, Pinot Noir prefers a cool climate and requires low yields to achieve high quality. Outside of France, outstanding examples come from in Oregon, California and throughout specific locations in wine-producing world. Somm Secret—André Tchelistcheff, California’s most influential post-Prohibition winemaker decidedly stayed away from the grape, claiming “God made Cabernet. The Devil made Pinot Noir.”
Marked by its charming hilltop village in the easternmost territory of the Loire, Sancerre is famous for its racy, vivacious, citrus-dominant Sauvignon blanc. Its enormous popularity in 1970s French bistros led to its success as the go-to restaurant white around the globe in the 1980s.
While the region claims a continental climate, noted for short, hot summers and long, cold winters, variations in topography—rolling hills and steep slopes from about 600 to 1,300 feet in elevation—with great soil variations, contribute the variations in character in Sancerre Sauvignon blancs.
In the western part of the appellation, clay and limestone soils with Kimmeridgean marne, especially in Chavignol, produce powerful wines. Moving closer to the actual town of Sancerre, soils are gravel and limestone, producing especially delicate wines. Flint (silex) soils close to the village produce particularly perfumed and age-worthy wines.
About ten percent of the wines claiming the Sancerre appellation name are fresh and light red wines made from Pinot noir and to a lesser extent, rosés. While not typically exported in large amounts, they are well-made and attract a loyal French following.