Sancerre et Pouilly-Fumé

Sancerre is my favourite wine, has been for many years. I have tried Sauvignon Blanc wine from other French appellations and from many other countries but it remains my favourite.

September is my birthday month and as I was missing France (it's over a year since our last visit) we decided to visit for 10 days, starting with a few nights in Sancerre for my actual birthday.

After 5 hours of driving through France's expansive countryside using the autoroutes, major and minor roads we had only 2 miles to go (according to Sally Sat Nav) yet we couldn't see a village or any vines, and did wonder if we were heading to the correct place .... and then, round the next bend was a beautiful view of this famous place with rows and rows of vines.

Sancerre!

Standing proud amongst the vines

It would take a long time to taste all the wines produced by the 300 winemakers here but we tried our best. I have had quite a few Sancerre's at various tastings in the UK, some have been superb but others have left me questioning if they really are from this select appellation.

I now know why, the village and surrounding slopes have different terroir. Sancerre soil can be white flint, limestone, clay or a combination ... resulting in subtle but different flavours.

Terroir variations

At a Majestic tasting in Leicester (recent blog post) we tried Jean-Max Roger's Sancerre and although nice for me it had something missing.

As their domaine is in Bué, just outside Sancerre village but still within the appellation, we drove over and met Jean-Max's son. They were busy bottling 2018 vintage in order to make room in the vats for this year's wine with the grapes being harvested in the next week. I find it fascinating to see the articulated lorries at the domaines, turning into a mini bottling plant with the distinctive sound of bottles chinking along the conveyor belts.

Jean-Max Roger

We were warmly welcomed, especially when we said we had tried their wine at Majestic. We tasted four wines from their range of both soil varities and vintages. As soon as I tasted the second wine I knew it was the one we'd had at Majestic Leicester, confirmed by checking my blog post photo!

Our superb tastings

Thank you Jean-Max Roger for a superb degustation, our bottles are packed safely in the car for our onward journey to be enjoyed at home.

We also visited the Cave Co-operative in Sancerre where their grapes come from 15 communes with 3,000 hectares of vines. They have some wines produced on specific vineyards, some made from only the first hand picked crops, some from the second crop which is machine picked and some made from grapes from a mixture of growers.

It was here I tried my first rosé Sancerre. Hubby and I are not keen on red Sancerre, made from Pinot Noir, but this and some other rosés we tasted later in the bars in town were very nice, including one with distinctive orange notes.

Sancerre Rosé 

Our two Co-operative tastings

My favourite Sancerre at home is by Oscar Brilliant, well it isn't really as although under that name in the UK it is made by Joseph Mellot. This well known wine producer has a restaurant in the town (unfortunately closed the days we were there), a large Domaine (which was also closed due to harvest) and La Vigne et le Vin boutique in the centre of the village.

Before leaving for our holiday my friend gave me a bottle of Oscar Brilliant Sancerre that she had hand decorated - it's stunning. The decorations are all the things I love in life, it's a bottle to treasure! Thank you so much Sarah, it's beautiful!

All the bars and restaurants serve a variety of Sancerre wine, so many different names, with most prices being €3.50 for 120ml glass. It's a great way to try wines from producers we have, nor would, never heard of; they were all so good.

Sitting in the market place on a warm afternoon was a superb way to enjoy a glass or two, especially when accompanied by Chavignol goats cheese. Our evenings were spent in La Bouteille Rouge, a small but welcoming bar where Monsieur et Madame served a variety of Sancerre with great knowledge.

Sitting in the market place

Perfect with Chavignol cheese

A superb bar in the centre of the village

Across the Loire from Sancerre is Pouilly-sur-Loire, a small village which has it's own appellation of white wine from Chasselas grapes. It is also the appellation area for Pouilly-Fumé made from Sauvignon Blanc.

We visited La Tour du Pouilly-Fumé to learn more about this region. Our visit began with a video about the history of the wines, set in a small room seated at a wooden bench table it felt as if we were in one of the village domaines. The next room also had a video, this time about the development of the vine over a year. Sitting in rows as at the cinema our visual experience was accompanied with rain, mist, heat and wind, very atmospheric!

After our videos we went underground into an old cave where 9 large glass vessels stood in a circle. The 7 clear vessels each contained a selection of aromas that can be found in wine. It was very interested to smell each and determine the various fragrances. The final two vessels were black, a test for our noses to see if we could identify what was in each. There was never any doubt, we both passed with flying colours.

The glass vessels in the cave

Honey and spices

Dried fruit and nuts

Red berries

Citrus

Tropical

Pear and white fruit

Floral

Our visit finished with a degustation of Pouilly-sur-Loire and Pouilly-Fumé. Although a lovely wine we found the Pouilly-sur-Loire a little light but really enjoyed the Pouilly-Fumé. Although made from Sauvignon Blanc the same as Sancerre and only being a few kilometres apart there is an added smokiness to Pouilly-Fumé.

The flint in Sancerre is white, whereas the flint this side of the river is brown and when rubbed together releases a smoky fragrance, hence the name Pouilly-Fumé.

We've had a super time in Sancerre and Pouilly-sur-Loire, it was a great way to celebrate my birthday. Thank you to everyone who made our visit so special.