Domaine Vacheron - Guigne-Chèvres 2015

Despite Valentine’s Day, we drink Sauvignon Blanc, a grape variety with which I would not necessarily describe my relationship as love. But it’s getting better and it’s not like it’s always complicated. On the contrary, there are always real discoveries among the wines tasted. This time the grapes come from France. In Sancerre, on the banks of the Loire, mainly Sauvignon Blanc is grown. In addition, there is a smaller part with Pinot Noir. Everything that is not made from these two grape varieties becomes a country wine. Domaine Vacheron cultivates about 40 hectares of vines there. As with almost all the wines we taste, this is done organically and with a lot of manual labour. The vines for this wine, which was harvested in 2015, are located in the Guigne-Chèvres vineyard on calcareous soils. The grapes are harvested by hand, fermented spontaneously with the vineyard’s own yeasts and then aged in wood.

The Sauvignon Blanc is initially restrained after opening. In any case, I find that appealing. It is neither particularly green nor particularly exotic. There are ripe, but rather tart apples and a little pear. On the palate, it’s super fresh, the acidity is lively and there’s a little bit of passion fruit at the very back of the tongue. The wine is super juicy, with air berries come into the aroma and a touch of buttery creaminess. It is fine, elegant and rather quiet.

The wine becomes softer and softer with air. You can smell the beginning of bottle maturity, there is minimal acetone in the background, but it continues to be rather reserved in the nose. You have to smell it carefully and get involved. On the tongue there is now honey, the fruit remains, the elegance too. But it also develops a great mineral structure on the edges of the tongue. Another new Sauvignon Blanc experience for me. After Zeter had set the benchmark until now, this is different but at least on the same level. To be fair, the bottles of Sauvignon Blanc from France I have tasted so far are also limited. Time to change that!

Overnight, the fragrance becomes even more complex. Still unobtrusive and quiet, you can now find even more different fruits. Both in the nose and in the taste. It gets more structure from the minerality, which has now also arrived at the top of the palate. But the slight butteriness remains. Very balanced and fine, now green pepper has joined the passion fruit, but so perfectly balanced, rounded and integrated that it is a real pleasure alongside the minerality.

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