Le Roi des Pierres Sancerre 2015
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This young, fruity herbal wine also has a smooth, ripe character from the warm vintage. That means it is developing fast to drink young, while the texture indicates that it can age, at least until 2022.
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Wine Spectator
A very steely style, with flint and chive the dominant characteristics along with tangy sel gris and dried thyme notes. Long, rapier finish.
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2021-
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Le Roi des Pierres, meaning "King of Stones," pays homage both to the Loire Valley's decorated royal past and its unique terroir, particularly silex’s designation as “the king of all stones.” Sancerre's wines, perhaps more than anywhere else in the world, represent a sense of place, reflecting the land and the history, easily transporting one to the hilltops of this spectacular appellation.
The Loire Valley is the historical heart of France, renowned for its beautiful countryside, breathtaking chateaux and legendary wine. From the 10th century onwards, kings and queens have called it their home, promoting intellectual and cultural advancements. Over the years the wines of Sancerre were considered to be the finest in the entire kingdom. There are three soil types found in Sancerre, terres blanches, which are clay and limestone soils rich in shellfish fossils, caillottes, pebbly limestone soils, and finally silex. Each soil type plays a significant role in the character of a wine's flavor.
Capable of a vast array of styles, Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp, refreshing variety that equally reflects both terroir and varietal character. Though it can vary depending on where it is grown, a couple of commonalities always exist—namely, zesty acidity and intense aromatics. This variety is of French provenance. Somm Secret—Along with Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc is a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. That green bell pepper aroma that all three varieties share is no coincidence—it comes from a high concentration of pyrazines (herbaceous aromatic compounds) inherent to each member of the family.
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.