2006 Crochet Sancerre with Pasta Fagioli

I visited a friend in San Francisco, and among other things we camped overnight in Big Basin Redwoods State Park. I'm in pretty decent shape but hiking up and down and up and down the Santa Cruz Mountains left my calves feeling a bit sore even two days after the fact. So when I returned to Chicago, I decided to feed them a nice plate of noodles and beans pasta fagioli. I had a meyer lemon handy so I dressed the fagioli in herbs and lemon juice and popped open Lucien Crochet's 2006 Sancerre.

I rarely drink Sancerre, or any sauvignon blanc for that matter, so I was inclined to compare it to the '07 Vacheron I so recently adored. But I thought the better of it (different vintage and all that) and decided to let the Crochet stand on its own delicious merits.

Lucien Crochet Sancerre 2006
According to importer Neal Rosenthal, Crochet sources his "basic" Sancerre from a variety of vineyards, harvests the grapes manually, ferments exclusively in steel tank, and avoids malolactic. In 2006 this led to a wine that ably straddles the gooseberry-grass divide and, more importantly to my palate, is simultaneously creamy and precise.

The aromas suggest lemon and white flowers, while delicate hints of smoke and chalk add intrigue. On the palate the wine is quite ripe but also firm, zesty, and energetic. This shows great poise and the minerality on the finish is pure, clear, and fairly long. Interestingly, I found that a great white pepper note emerged when paired with the lemony — and well-peppered — pasta fagioli.

In other words, the 2006 Crochet fulfilled one of my essential wine commandments: that wine be self-posessed and true but marry well with an appropriate pairing. And at the end of the day — or at least at the end of a hike — what more could I ask for?

Speaking of commandments, happy Easter and Passover to all y'all...

2007 Domaine Vacheron Sancerre Blanc

I picked up some Humboldt Fog and asked myself, "What to drink?" The obvious answer, for me, is a slightly demi-sec Vouvray, which makes for a magical pairing. But this time I opted for others' obvious answer: Sancerre.

Over the years I've given little attention to Sancerre blanc given my lack of enthusiasm for sauvignon blanc in general. But as Jim Budd notes, "the Sancerres that are worth drinking completely transcend Sauvignon Blanc’s two-dimensional varietal character... [and] often have a thrilling minerality and precision of flavour."

Domaine Vacheron delivers exactly that. Now, you should read Jim's post on his September 2008 visit to Domaine Vacheron, but I'll summarize a few key points. The Vacherons implemented a biodynamics regime a decade ago and their vineyards' soils are composed equally of silex and limestone. In recent years they have backed off the extraction levels and also now use fewer small barrels in favor of 600 L vats, and have even changed the pruning system for new plantings, eschewing the Guyot system in favor of cordon so as to reduce yields. They don't stop experimenting, thinking things through, and above all doing everything they can to emphasize terroir.

Given the wine's ability to age, the very pale 2007 is obviously very young, and it was tightly wound, if deeply aromatic, when first opened. I got calcerous lemon, slightly bitter grapefruit pith, and energetic salty minerals. A strong and pure spine of acidity provides excellent structure, but again, you are at arm's length from the wine's core essence. But by night three the body becomes rounder, even creamy, without losing an iota of its weightlessness, acid precision, or salty drive, and the elegant, multilayered alfalfa and lemon cream notes really sing on the long finish, particularly at midpalate.

This is a delicate wine, and my spicy vegetable soup overwhelmed it, but once it had evolved it was indeed fantastic with the Humboldt Fog. It should also be great with steamed bivalves or light, grilled whitefish. Decant now or cellar for later — preferably both.

Grilled Lamb, Aged Chinon, and Sancerre Rose

Happy Memorial Day, everyone. Last night I had a few friends over for grilled meats, wine, and conversation. Before the sun went down and the conversation turned (even more) bawdy, I popped open the 2006 Pascal et Nicolas Reverdy Terre de Maimbray Sancerre, which is a rosé made solely from pinot noir. Last summer this was terrifically tart and even showed sharp, flinty grapefruit a la sauvignon blanc; it was obvious it needed time. Now, it's showing very well. The acidity is still prominent but it's not nearly so aggressive as it was last year, as it's been stitched into the beautiful strawberry nose and palate. It's clean but it has suggestions of complexity, thanks to the minerally finish that dances on the tongue. Nice to see how some rosés not named Heredia can really gain from some time, and it went really well with the earthy wontons (chives, eggplant, porcini) I fried up as an appetizer.

Thanks to the Storyteller Wine Co. I was able to snag a few bottles of the 1996 Jean-Maurice Raffault Chinon Clos d’Isoré, which comes from vines that are over 70 years old. Twelve years from harvest, this is irrepressibly fresh and impeccably balanced, and it was just so good with the grilled Provencal lamb and roasted peppers. It strikes high but savory notes on the nose, particularly cherry, salt, pepper, and a hint of meat. Spicy yet subtle tobacco flavors join the above, and the acidity here is incredibly refreshing. It's not one of your lighter Chinons, and the substantial and well-integrated tannins make their presence known on the midpalate, but what really makes the whole package work is the long minerality — something for which the Clos d'Isoré is known, or so we are told. Given this wine's structure and verve, I would expect it to further deepen with another five years or more.