Domaine Vacheron, 2016 Update
The appellation of Sancerre continues to excite, especially chez Vacheron. It is now getting on for five years since the Vacheron family launched their new range of single-vineyard wines in London, kicking off with a quartet of wines from Le Paradis, Chambrates, Guigne-Chèvres and Les Romains. The first three sites are marked by the presence of Oxfordian caillottes, and these wines were all new additions to the portfolio, while the latter features flint rather than limestone, and has in fact been part of the portfolio since 1997.
Last year I encountered another two new additions to the portfolio for the first time, proof if any were needed that the Vacheron family are not resting on their laurels. Both appeared in the 2012 vintage, and the parcels had previously been blended into the domaine cuvée. The first was Le Pavé, a cuvée made from a 2-hectare parcel of vines planted on Cretaceous marl to the east of the town of Sancerre. Second was L’Enclos des Remparts, a cuvée that will clearly be very limited in supply, being sourced from just 14 ares (in other words, 0.14 hectares) of vines planted in a tiny clos next to the walls (the remparts) of the town of Sancerre. This is a true vin de garde, one to challenge all the greatest names of the appellation, despite the fact it wears the Vin de France designation.
On the event of this latest tasting I had the opportunity to revisit some of these cuvées, but I was also introduced to yet another relatively new addition to the range, a red cuvée. It isn’t brand new, being a wine from the 2010 vintage, but curiously this is the first chance I have had to taste it.
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