François Crochet, 2023 Update
I adore the Sauvignons and Pinots of the Central Vineyards, from the famous names of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, through to less regularly exalted appellations such as the Coteaux du Giennois. I admit, therefore, that I am perhaps guilty of not giving them sufficient column inches here on Winedoctor.
So let’s redress the balance a little, with some recent notes on the 2022 and 2021 vintages from François Crochet.
François Crochet is based in Bué (that much is a given; after all, isn’t everybody named Crochet based in Bué?), which being situated on the western side of the Sancerre appellation is naturally dominated by Oxfordian soils, with a touch of Kimmeridgian if you look hard enough. He has vines in the majority of the commune’s most highly regarded lieux-dits, these being Chêne Marchand, Grand Chemarin and Petit Chemarin.
These three vineyards sit on the same côte which faces south-south-east (and which runs on into Crézancy as the Côte de Champtin) although, because of the numerous little valleys carved into the slope, there are in fact a variety of aspects found here. The soils are mostly caillottes or occasionally griottes, both classic Oxfordian terroirs, and François aims to bring the expression of each terroir to the fore with vinification in steel and oak, and in recent vintages he has also followed the trend of experimentation with amphorae.
