Vincent Pinard: Tasting & Drinking
Looking first to the white side of the portfolio, while I have on occasion found the choice offered in blended wines a little confusin, there being four such cuvées positioned at what might be considered the domaine’s entry-level, this is a domaine turning out some of the very best expressions of Sancerre’s (more specifically, Bué’s) terroirs.
These four entry-level blended wines are Florès, Les Créots (not strictly a blended wine, but it sits at this level in the portfolio), Nuance and Harmonie, and each has something to offer, although the latter two are infinitely more interesting than the former two. And in my experience Harmonie rules the roost, coming from older parcels of vines than Nuance.
The real value and interest to committed drinkers of Sancerre, however, lies in the four cuvées parcellaires. The three great terroirs of Bué (putting the Clos de la Poussie to one side for the moment), are each represented in the Vincent Pinard portfolio. Any fan of single-site Sancerre should endeavour to check out these wines at some time in their drinking ‘career’, the wines more Burgundian in their genesis and authenticity than most wines with Sancerre on the label, the end result deliciously expressive of the village’s fabled limestone terroirs. With these wines the Vincent Pinard domaine claims its position at the top of the Sancerre game.
This is also true when it comes to the red wines. The domaine-level cuvée is good enough, but the upper-class Charlouise and Vendanges Entières are breathtaking examples of what can be achieved with the Pinot Noir variety in this region. Again the wines are brought into the world in a Burgundian frame, representing small parcels of vines, carefully coaxed through the fermentation and into the bottle by Clément and Florent.
My most recent visit to the domaine, more than a decade after that chance encounter in the midst of the 2013 harvest, only cemented in place this domaine’s reputation, in the process Clément pouring more than 50 wines.
My only regret was that I forgot to ask if they still have the Citroen Méhari. I bet they do. (4/6/14, updated 10/7/26)
