Sancerre blanc "Chambrates" AOC 2022

A purist, coolly defined Sancerre of great purity that never feels austere. Fine, precise and taut on the nose: white blossoms, yellow and green citrus notes, stone and salt, along with hints of iodine and herbs. Nothing about it reveals that 2022 was a warm year.

The Chambrates vineyard lies on a cooler plateau above Le Paradis, on Jurassic limestone of marine origin from the Oxfordian, 150 million years old. Above it lies a layer of fine, iron-rich clay up to 90 cm deep that retains water. The soil is very rocky, rich in cailottes (yellowish limestone pebbles and small, easily crumbling limestone plates) and fossilized shale plates. By day, sun exposure brings warmth; at night, the higher elevation cools things down.

Sauvignon Blanc, hand-harvested and slowly pressed with a pneumatic press. After roughly 36 hours of cold settling below 10 °C, the must ferments spontaneously, 40 percent in stainless steel tank, 60 percent in amphorae and 600-litre barrels. It matures for two years on fine lees in the same vessels, then rests for another year in stainless steel. It was bottled unfiltered, following the lunar cycle.

Citrusy, white-berry fruit, carried by refined acidity, a clear structure and a fine texture. The oak remains subtle, the depth is impressive, the fullness precisely defined, and despite its density the wine retains its effortlessness. What Matthias Planchon calls «l'eau de roche», rock water, rings with a saline note here.

Sole in beurre blanc, grilled scallops and asparagus with hollandaise sauce; also white poultry in lemon jus, seafood or goat cheese.

The Planchon family has farmed vineyards in Sancerre since 1573; Jules Émile Planchon identified phylloxera in 1868 and saved European viticulture through grafting onto American rootstocks. Matthias Planchon took over the 5.5 hectares across ten parcels in 2012, has farmed them biodynamically since 2018 (AB and EU organic certification), and bottles around 22,000 bottles a year, exclusively by single vineyard.