Wine & Spirits - April 2020 - 97

90 | Emile Balland

276023
$33

2018 Sancerre Croq'Caillotte ^ Broad apple
and green pear flavors fill out and warm this
wine's structure, which has enough tension
and mineral acidity to corral the ripeness.
Chill it this summer to enjoy its clean, floral
citrus notes with grilled sea bass. It grows in
2.5 acres of vines in clay-limestone soil covered in white stones, the wine spontaneously
fermented in stainless-steel tanks, where it
ages for five months. § Bonhomie Wine Imports,
South Orange, NJ
275796

90 | Domaine Delaporte

$40

2018 Sancerre Silex ^ Matthieu Delaporte
heads up this family domaine in Chavignol,
producing this wine from 50-year-old vines
growing in flinty soils. The wine ferments
and ages in 2,000-liter barrels, building the
vanilla notes of oak into the massive amount
of fruit, from yellow cherries to apricots and
lemon. A powerful young wine, this needs
several years in bottle to show its best. § Vineyard Brands, Birmingham, AL
275253

90 | Langlois-Château

$35

2018 Sancerre Château de FontaineAudon ^ This crémant specialist, under the
Bollinger umbrella, is focused in Saumur,
while its domaine extends to 81.5 acres in
Sancerre. This wine grows at 37 acres on flint
soils surrounding the château at St-Gemme.
Fermented in stainless steel and aged into
spring on the lees, it's an austere sauvignon
with notes of grapefruit pith and white pepper. There's floral passion fruit richness waiting to develop with bottle age. (W&S 2/20) §
Vintus, Pleasantville, NY
276442

90 | Saget La Perrière

$63

2016 Sancerre Mégalithe ^ From an estate
vineyard rich in silex soils, this wine is a 50-50
blend of lots fermented and aged in barrels
(one-third new) and others vinified in stainless-steel vats. It comes together in a broad
and luscious sauvignon, its clean green-grape
richness detailed by smokiness, creaminess
and lasting complexity. Built to age. § Taub
Family Selections, Boca Raton, FL
275721

90 | J. de Villebois

$53

2017 Sancerre Terres Blanches ^ This grows
at parcels on the western side of Sancerre,
where the Kimmeridgian marl is covered in
white stones. The 25-year-old vines produced
a clean and spicy sauvignon in 2017, gooseberry-fresh in the middle, a little brothy and
doughy in the end. Its broad flavors need
something equally rich, like a creamy scallop and asparagus risotto. § Vineyard Brands,
Birmingham, AL

88 | Domaine Yves Martin

$29

2017 Sancerre de Chavignol Clos de Beaujeu (Best Buy) ^ Scents of white lilies give this
wine a mature fullness, an oxidative character that comes from barrel fermentation
and aging. As full and fleshy as it is, there's
enough grape-skin bitterness to tighten up
the structure. It's substantial enough for
roast veal. § David Bowler Wines, NY

T OU RAINE
276416

90 | Aimé Boucher

$16

90 | Domaine Delobel

$17

90 | Domaine
de la Rochette

$25

2018 Touraine Sauvignon Blanc (Best
Buy) ^ Spring-like freshness infuses this fat
and fleshy sauvignon, its green grape flavors
plumped up to tropical notes of passion
fruit even as they carry a bitter orange acidity and woodland scents of spring flowers. A
delicious white for fresh shellfish, like Nantucket bay scallops. § Vintners Alliance, New
Rochelle, NY
276696
2018 Touraine Angle Droit Sauvignon
Blanc (Best Buy) ^ Benjamin Delobel farms
30 acres in Oisly, focused on sauvignon
blanc. This selection offers full yellow plum
and lemon custard flavors cut by green acidity. The wine's tense structure seems tied to
its floral scents of lilies and lavender. For
chèvre, from fresh to aged. § Cognac One, NY
276002
2017 Touraine Chenonceaux ^ Based in the
Cher Valley, Vincent Leclair grows this sauvignon near the Château du Chenonceau.
From its honeycomb scent to its bright
grapefruit-pith acidity, this has a rich and
tangy contrast that would work well with
fresh goat cheese. § David Bowler Wines, NY

VA L D E LOIRE
276224

89 | Domaine du Salvard

$16

2018 Val de Loire Unique Sauvignon
Blanc (Best Buy) ^ Based in Cheverny, the
Delaille family farms sauvignon in northeastern Touraine. This bottling, grown on
clay and sand, is deliciously plump, with rich
notes of white peach and beeswax. It's dense
and heady, a terrific buy for spring dinners,
such as pasta with English peas. § Kermit Lynch
Wine Merchant, Berkeley, CA ■

https://www.cristomvineyards.com

Wine & Spirits - April 2020

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - April 2020