Wine & Spirits - April 2021 - 110

Focus Loire Wines
with its spicy green notes. Immediately herbaceous (think fresh sage and thyme) with
florals that tinge the edges in white rose,
there's a punch of musky grapefruit-pith flavors that give it distinctive character. § Cape
Classics, NY
523373

91 | Fournier

$45

2019 Sancerre Silex ^ Fournier's Silex bottling is blended from vineyards in the eastern portion of Sancerre, alongside the river.
The wine's alcohol gives it a warming, generous texture without outright heat, its kaleidoscopic rainbow of fruit flecked with edamame green. It may come off a bit racy, so
chill it hard, and serve it with pasta tossed
with grilled broccoli rabe. § David Milligan
Selections, Ridgefield, CT
523775

91 | Fournier

$38

2019 Sancerre L'Ancienne Vigne ^ Fournier
turns to Sury-en-Vaux in the northwestern
end of Sancerre for this bottling. It grows
on terres blanches, and the acidity born out
of that white limestone structures the wine,
cresting in waves of flavor: first, lemon skin
and white peach; then, pale honey and wildflowers. A saline edge comes out with air, one
that might get along great with a salt-baked
chicken. § David Milligan Selections, Ridgefield, CT
523362

91 | Domaine Jean-Paul
Picard

$26

2019 Sancerre Le Chemin de Marloup ^
This family domaine with close to 35 acres
of vines around Bué is run by Mickael Picard,
Jean-Paul's son. He hand-harvests this sauvignon fruit from 30-year-old vines planted in
clay and limestone soils. The wine feels well
grown, ripe but not overbearing, presenting
floral aromas over mango and grapefruit
notes. § V.O.S. Selections, NY
523374

90 | Fournier

$50

and kumquat flavors focused by tart acidity. §
David Milligan Selections, Ridgefield, CT
523774

90 | Fournier

$45

2019 Sancerre Les Terres Blanches ^ Ripe
aromas of litchi and mango meet zippy acidity in this bottling from soils of clay and white
limestone. The wine's crunchy peach flavors
add texture that resolves on a firm and distinctly fresh gravelly note. § David Milligan
Selections, Ridgefield, CT
523376

90 | J. de Villebois

$66

2018 Sancerre Les Boffants ^ While only five
percent of the wine fermented in (CK old or
new?) 228-liter barrels, the influence shows
in its spice aromas. Chive blossom and walnut skin set this wine up to sing next to the
right dish-like chicken poached with ginger and scallion or turbot in a beurre blanc,
smothered in fresh dill. § Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL
523356

90 | Henry Natter

$37

90 | Patrick Noël

$36

2019 Sancerre ^ Henry and Cécile Natter
farm vines in the far western reaches of the
appellation around Montigny. Their 2019
unfolds slowly, like a slow wake, revealing
notes of green tea and tropical fruit. There's
a fleshy coconut softness in its texture, and it
finishes on warm florals. § Vintage '59 Imports,
Washington, DC
523364

91 | Couly-Dutheil

$22

2019 Sancerre Rosé ^ Aromatically dense
with sous-bois herbal notes and bright cherry
fruit, this wine's saline backbone adds structure to the texture. Pour it alongside seared
arctic char and snow peas. § Cape Classics, NY

WINE & SPIRITS

APRIL 2021

90 | Clau de Nell

$60

2017 Anjou Violette ^ Anne-Claude Leflaive
took on this 20-acre biodynamic project in
Anjou with her husband, Christian Jacques,
in 2008; they brought in Sylvain Potin, who
has continued to run the property since
Leflaive's death in 2015. This blend (threequarters cabernet franc, the rest cabernet
sauvignon) shows dark fruit-silky plum and
blueberry jam-but the wine's steely tannins
support its ripeness, and the mineral edge
keeps it in line. § Wilson Daniels, Napa, CA

CABERNET FRANC
523338

94 | Béatrice & Pascal
Lambert

$26

2016 Chinon Les Perruches ^ The Lamberts gained biodynamic certification for
their 45-acre domaine in 2012. They assemble this blend from the fruit of young vines
planted in perruches soil (flinty clay). There's
an undeniable energy to this wine, erupting
from the glass with an earthy funk, a spiced
twang sending its bell pepper and blueberry
fruit into a wild direction. A savory beauty,
air reveals red berries, ripe plum and scents
of bitters, the wine holding its shape for five
days-plenty of time to enjoy with beef bourguignon. § Shiverick Imports, Los Angeles, CA

523784

$65

110

523325

R OS É
2019 Chinon René Couly Rosé ^ The dark
tone of this rosé calls to mind wild mountain sunsets, and the bright acid punches up
a floral core. The extraction pushes cabernet
franc's tannins towards cherry-tomato skins,
fresh from the garden. Delicious with a German summer picnic: sausages, dark bread
and potato salad. § Kindred Vines, Troy, MI
523384

2019 Sancerre Les Bouffants ^ The small
white stones at the surface of this vineyard
reflect the sun back to the grapes, tending to
hasten the maturity of the fruit. The result is
a decadent wine with honeyed Meyer lemon

BLENDS

2019 Sancerre ^ Sourced from vineyards in
the village of Sancerre, Chavignol and SaintSatur, this wine ferments spontaneously in
stainless steel. Its rich mango flavors might
come off a bit sticky at first, but a bright white
peach finish pulls it back from the overripe
brink. § De Maison Selections, Chapel Hill, NC

2018 Sancerre Silex ^ Fournier's 2018 Silex
bottling shares that same kaleidoscopic fruit
character you might find in the 2019 (also
recommended here)-or think of this one as
an aurora, where the flavors feel most interesting at the edges. In the end, its pleasure is
in the tension that the silex smokiness brings
to dominate the finish. § David Milligan Selections, Ridgefield, CT
523375

90 | Fournier

RED

90 | Le Roi des Pierres

$28

523340

93 | Xavier & Agnès
Amirault

$36

92 | Domaine Paul Buisse

$13

2017 St Nicolas de Bourgueil Les Quarterons ^ Xavier and his wife, Agnès, manage their
92-acre vineyard biodynamically, growing
this perfumed, light cabernet franc. Carried
by a raspberry briskness, this wine's scents
of turned earth meld with roses. Vivacious
and comforting, it feels fae-like, a mischievous otherworldly fairy, drawing you deeper
and deeper into an unfamiliar wood. § Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL
523330
2019 Chinon Cabernet Franc (Best Buy) ^
This wine leads with jalapeño, tomato and
http://www.vineyardbrands.com/producer.aspx?id=126
Wine & Spirits - April 2021

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