Sancerre wine
Sancerre is best known for its beautiful dry white wines.
The Sancerre wine region is located on the banks of the Loire River. The area is famous for its delicious fresh wines from the Sauvignon blanc. In other places this grape is experienced as difficult but in the Sancerre, it is made into fresh wines that cannot be matched. In almost every serious restaurant, a Sancerre will be on the wine list. In addition to the white wines, red wines from the Pinot Noir are also made.
Appellation
Sancerre is a French wine with an Appellation d’origine contrôlée quality mark. This is being rebuilt in the east of the Loire Valley. Sancerre wine is named after a small municipality in the French department of Cher. The ancient village lies on a hill on the Western Loire bank and is surrounded by vineyards. The AOC dates from 1936 and then only applied to white Sauvignon blanc. Since 1959, the AOC also applies to red and rose wine made from the Pinot Noir grape.
Grapes from Sancerre wine
The Sancerre is best known for its Sauvignon blanc and Pinot noir. The Sauvignon Blanc is a mandatory grape for many white wines here, prescribed in the rules of the appellation.
Pinot noir
The pinot noir is a grape from which some of the greatest wines of the world are made. The pinot noir produces fruity aromatic wines that in some cases have the ability to mature.
Sauvignon Blanc
Many people think that no great wines are made from the Sauvignon Blanc. However, this grape is one of the most popular white grape varieties in the world.
The terroir of Sancerre wine
Sancerre is located in the Loire, named after the river of the same name. This winds through the rustic mountainous landscape. The composition of the soil is very dependent on the location, which gives the Sancerre wine its own unique character. The land consists mainly of three different types. The first is a substrate that is also called Terres blanches. It is white clay with a high lime content. In addition, we come to a pebble-covered soil (the Cailottes). We finally discover a soil of gravel-containing soil in the Sancerre.
Smell, color and taste
Today, Sancerre wine is world famous for its white Sauvignon blanc, crisp, tight dry wines with floral aromas of acacia, jasmine or young white fruit. The dominant grape in Sancerre is Sauvignon-blanc from which the crisply fresh and dry white wines are made. White Sancerre goes particularly well with fish, goat cheese (from the region) and of course foie gras. The red Sancerre wine is firmer and fruity with aromas of cherries, cherries. It is more suitable for white meat such as rabbit or poultry. The rose, then with him, goes perfectly with meat sauce.
The Loire
The Loire is the longest river in France and the last wild (non-canalized) river in Europe. By UNESCO, the area known for its many castles has been designated as World Heritage. A large part of the basin consists of vineyards. The AOC Loire (with the smaller AOCs such as Sancerre) is the third largest wine region in France; second when it comes to the production of sparkling wines and the largest producer of white wine. Best known regions are Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, on either side of the Loire River. Less well-known are Quincy, Menetou-Salon and Reuilly, where similar wines come from. We tasted many and drew some interesting conclusions. One is that Pouilly-Fumé is resting comfortably on its laurels. The wines that come from this region are often a bit too expensive and not that interesting. Sancerre is a lot more interesting, with very good and also less expensive ones. But a very good ratio between price and quality can be found in the nearby Menetou Salon. So many wines from this region are in our list.