Henri Bourgeois: Tasting & Drinking
The Henri Bourgeois domaine is one which, when exploring this appellation for the first time, you are quite likely to encounter. This reflects the size of the family’s business, and the wide distribution of its wines. It is perhaps tempting to dismiss the wines at this level, with the assumption that anything produced in such large quantities simply cannot be of interest. But this would be a mistake I think; the entry-level wines are fresh, minerally and show a nice typicity for the appellation. I have happily drunk several vintages of Les Bonnes Blanches (or whatever it might be called) in my time.
Having said that, it is of course with the more upper-crust cuvées that the wines begin to get really interesting. There is, I suspect, something here for everyone. The Sancerre d’Antan is a personal favourite, even if its rich and mouth-filling depth feels somewhat atypical for Sancerre in the 21st century. For a more classically styled wine, a cuvée from the upper level of the Terroir range, or from the Legacy range, would be a good choice. They are wines of high quality. It is not that long ago, during a visit to Sancerre, that I tasted the 1994 Le MD de Bourgeois; at nearly twenty years of age, and from a weak and wet vintage, the wine showed remarkably well. I believe that it is what you do in the more difficult vintages that defines your qualities as a grower of wine. If that is the criteria Henri Bourgeois is to be judged on, then it seems this behemoth of a domaine passes with flying colours.
Indeed, the belief that the wines of Sancerre can age well runs in the veins of the Bourgeois family, and over the many years I have been exploring and trying to understand the wines of the Loire Valley I have come to agree with this belief. “Many wines from Sancerre can age well”, says Arnaud Bourgeois, “perhaps eight, twelve or twenty years, like a ‘Burgundy Villages’ wine. The whites go from citrus fruit, to tropical fruit, to dried fruit and then to notes of truffle”. Having tasted many such aged wines for myself, I can see the wisdom in Arnaud’s words. My only caveat is that you have to choose your wine and your domaine carefully if looking for a wine to cellar, but Henri Bourgeois is one such reliable name. I would say, however, that twenty years is in some cases a little parsimonious, as my notes on wines from the 1990 vintage, below, will attest. (16/9/04, updated 11/6/14, 26/11/17, 15/7/18, 4/8/24)
