While most of the world’s noble white wine terroirs produce styles that are defined by power and richness, Sancerre is typically the opposite; it is usually driven by minerality and acidity, and on rare occasions (like here), brings the intensity as well. The Crochet family were pioneers of the Sancerre appellation long before the region was widely recognized in the US. In the early 1900s, the family was one of the first to bottle their wines and sell them in Paris. In the 1980s, Lucien Crochet’s Sancerre was one of the first of the region’s wines to break into the Bordeaux- and Burgundy-dominated New York wine scene. To this day, the family’s white wines are a globally recognized standard. They grace Michelin-starred wine lists around the world and are benchmarks for the region. This wine is without question one of the most serious examples of Sauvignon Blanc on earth.

The Crochet family’s winery is not a funky, rustic, minimally appointed basement of a family home—in fact it is quite the opposite. To make focused, fresh, extremely pure wine, it is necessary to incorporate some trappings of modernity; so, the family runs an impressively clean and technologically advanced cellar. Fermentation and aging temperatures are all controlled by computer and every function is planned and carried out with a sense of purpose. It’s no wonder that so much thought and organization goes into producing wines this consistent and delicious. 

As always, this ’22 displays finely layered and focused peony, chrysanthemum, pear blossom, oyster shell, granny smith apple, grapefruit, lemon cream, acacia honey, and toasted biscuit aromas. The palate opens with mouthwatering freshness, before melting into a truly endless and long finish of white flowers and honeycomb. Serve between 45-50 degrees in all-purpose stems and pair with a restaurant classic like beet and goat cheese salad (chèvre being the ultimate Sancerre accompaniment).