98 points James Suckling
Enveloping, sensual bouquet of a thousand yellow fruits and some wild berries that’s just beginning to reveal its profundity. Gigantic concentration, but this remains as light on its feet as a prima ballerina. The gentle creaminess on the palate perfectly balances the mineral acidity that seems to blink like a star low in the sky. Enormously long and subtle finish. From biodynamically grown grapes with Demeter certification. Drinkable now, but better from 2023.

Grape Variety

Riesling Wine

Riesling is a light-skinned, aromatic grape of German origin which is – if the majority of top wine critics are to be believed – the world’s finest white wine grape variety.

For many, the claim above may seem at odds with the sea of chaptalized, low-quality wine exported from Germany in the late 20th Century. In truth, very little of that infamous wine was Riesling at all, but instead higher-yielding grapes such as Müller-Thurgau and Silvaner), but the reputation has nonetheless stuck. Riesling has also been stereotyped as just a sweet grape, used only to make sticky wines. But while botrytized Rieslings are among the finest sweet wines in the world, the majority of global Riesling wines are either dry or off-dry.

Riesling vines above the Mosel

The Riesling vine holds a very different place in the wine world to such great grapes as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Chardonnay. While these immensely popular varieties have conquered every corner of the winegrowing world, Riesling is conspicuously absent from the core wine regions of France, Spain and Italy. Its fanbase is smaller, but fervent.

Riesling’s spiritual home is unquestionably the regions that trace the middle Rhine and the lower Mosel, two of Europe’s great wine rivers. Here we find the key wine regions of Germany, most famously Mosel, Rheinhessen, Rheingau and Pfalz. Riesling vines cover the steep, slate-rich hillsides above these famous rivers, and are used to make crisp, refreshing wines with pronounced acidity.

On the other side of the Rhine lies Alsace, once German but now part of France. Here, Riesling is the most important wine grape variety in terms of both quantity and (arguably) quality. Alsace Riesling has its own individual style, richer and more generous than those made in Germany. This is made possible by the region’s sunny, dry mesoclimate and the shelter provided by the Vosges Mountains.

Austria also produces a large quantity of Riesling, most notably from its eastern Wachau and Kremstal regions. This is made mostly in drier styles, although Lake Neusiedl, just southeast of Vienna, creates a sufficiently humid climate for the production of sweet botrytized Riesling.

Happily, Riesling has found several New World niches to which it is very well suited. The high quality Rieslings now made in Australia’s Clare and Eden valleys have proved this with particular competence. Most notably, Clare Valley Riesling has emerged as a style in its own right, with crisp, citrus-scented acidity and aromas of toast and honeysuckle. Just across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand is also making high-quality Riesling in Canterbury and Otago, while South Africa’s Riesling is also showing promise. The famous ice wines of Canada are made mostly from Riesling or Vidal, and have further demonstrated the cold-resistant characteristics of this hard-wooded variety.

There are various clones and sub-varieties of Riesling in existence, and the variety has multiple variations on its name (e.g. Johannisberg Riesling, Rhine Riesling). To complicate matters, there are several white grape varieties that bear the name Riesling, but are entirely unrelated. The most notable of these are Welschriesling (Riesling Italico), Okanagan Riesling and Cape Riesling, which itself is also known as Crouchen, Paarl Riesling and Clare Riesling.

A rare, pink-skinned variant of Riesling – Roter Riesling – is grown in Germany and Austria. There is ongoing debate as to whether Roter Riesling is a mutated form of traditional Riesling, or vice-versa.

Synonyms include: Weisser Riesling, Johannisberg Riesling, Johannisberger, Rhine Riesling, Riesling Renano.

Food matches for Riesling include:

• Quiche Lorraine; zwiebelkuchen onion cakes (dry)
• Thai green curry (off-dry)
• Key lime pie (sweet)

Region

Schlossberg Wine

Schlossberg is an Alsace Grand Cru vineyard located on the slopes above Kaysersberg and Kientzheim in Alsace, north-eastern France. At 197 acres (80ha), it is the largest of the region’s 51 Grand Cru sites and the oldest; it was the first Alsace vineyard to be granted Grand Cru status when classification began in 1975.

Schlossberg is amongst the best known of all Alsace vineyard names. It acquired its title from the castle (schloss in German) at its western edge, which it has stood guard over Kayserberg and the Weisbach Valley for 800 years. The vineyards are much older than the castle though; Roman colonists tended vines here more than 1500 years ago.

Schlossberg

Schlossberg Grand Cru, overlooking Kaysersberg
This site is one of a quartet of Grand Crus located on the northern slopes of the Weisbach Valley (Furstentum, Mambourg and Marckrain are the other three). They are significant because of the degree to which their south-facing slopes extend out onto the plains north of Colmar. The majority of Alsace’s Grand Cru sites closely hug the lower slopes of the Vosges, away from the over-fertile soils of the plains. As a result, they are generally restricted either to the occasional south-east-facing slopes, or to the south-facing slopes on finger-like promontories. The unbroken south-facing slope which runs west–east for three miles (4.8km) from Kayserberg to Bennwihr is therefore something of an exception. Schlossberg is located at the western edge.

The slopes here rise steeply from 800 to 1400ft (245–425m), making them some of the steepest and highest in the region – surpassed only by the dramatic Rangen hillside. They have a south and south-easterly aspect, with the vines exposed to the ripening rays of the sun throughout the morning and into the afternoon. Schlossberg is divided between two non-contiguous sections, separated by a folded rift in the hillside but sharing the same soil type and aspect. The smaller, northern section is one-tenth the size of the main slope directly above the town of Kayserberg.

The Schlossberg hillside is composed largely of granite, with the upper layers in an advanced state of decomposition. As a result, the topsoils contain a high proportion of coarse granitic sand, rich in potassium, magnesium and phosphorus – minerals that are found in few other vineyards. The distinctive style of Schlossberg Riesling wine is attributed largely to this unusual soil composition.

The climate of the area is of continental type with particularly low rainfall – a result of the rain shadow cast by the Vosges. The mountains also provide protection from the prevailing westerly winds, making the Alsatian summer one of the driest and warmest in the northern half of France. At the other end of the temperature scale, the winters here are cold; it is not uncommon to see Alsace vineyards lined with snow.

Apart from a few notable exceptions, all Alsace Grand Cru wines are varietals and may be made from Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris or Muscat. Schlossberg has each of these varieties planted and is particularly well known for its Riesling.

Schlossberg is entirely separate from the smaller Wineck-Schlossberg, two miles (3km) to the south.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1499707011753{padding-top: 30px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Producer Notes

About Domaine Weinbach

Domaine Weinbach is a leading wine estate in the Alsace region. It is named after the “wine brook”, a small stream that runs through the main property, which is a former monastery near Kayserberg. The estate is known for its wines made at varying levels of sweetness from Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner, Gewürztraminer and Muscat.

Domaine Weinbach

Unusually for the region, Weinbach only uses estate-grown grapes. It has holdings in four nearby Grand Cru vineyards on the slopes of the Weisbach Valley – Schlossberg, Furstentum, Mambourg and Marckgrain. Weinbach also owns the famous 5-hectare (12-acre) monopole, Le Clos des Capucins, which surrounds the cellars just below Schlossberg, and the Altenbourg vineyard adjacent to Furstentum.

All of the estate’s 28ha (69 acres) of vineyards have been farmed biodynamically since 2005 and are certified by Ecocert and Demeter. After a gentle, gradual pressing, the juice is slowly fermented in old oak vats using indigenous yeasts.

For several decades the estate was run by Colette Faller and her daughters, winemaker Laurence and sales director Catherine. Laurence died tragically young from a heart attack in 2014, and her mother passed away the following year. Catherine Faller now runs the estate with her sons.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Boisson-Vadot / Anne & Pierre Boisson is a group of Burgundian estates based in Meursault , Burgundy . The wines are produced in collaboration in the cellar of the Boisson family , leading winegrowers in Meursault for more than two centuries. The 10-hectare estate was managed by Bernard Boisson-Vadot until 2016 and his son and daughter, Pierre and Anne Boisson , have taken over since the 2017 vintage. Some wines are bottled under the Boisson-Vadot label , while certain plots of the estate are attributed to Pierre Boisson and Anne Boisson and the wines bear their name.

This Anne Boisson cuvée is made entirely from Aligoté , the vines of which are 60 years old, and grown in the heart of the commune of Meursault. The grapes are sorted in the vineyard and in the cellar before being placed in vats. The wine is aged in oak barrels for between 15 and 18 months

Grape Variety

Aligot

The Aligoté varietal first emerged in the Bourgogne in the 17th century, and is the result of a cross between Gouais Blanc and Pinot Noir. It also shares its origins with Chardonnay.

For a long time, the Aligoté grape suffered from being compared to Chardonnay, despite sometimes being planted alongside it in certain prestigious appellations such as Corton-Charlemagne and Montrachet. It flourished on the best hillsides, producing bigger, more plentiful grapes than the Chardonnay varietal.

In 1937, along with the other Bourgogne AOCs, the Aligoté grape received a first sign of recognition, with the creation of the Régionale AOC, Bourgogne Aligoté, which was authorized to be produced right across the Bourgogne.

For the past five years, its reputation has continued to grow. Bourgogne Aligoté is now appreciated by wine lovers for its vivacity and thirst-quenching qualities, and is popular among a hip young clientele.[/vc_column_text][vc_separator][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]

Burgundy Wine

About 200 million years ago, the region was part of a vast, tropical sea which created limestone soils. These soils are the secret behind the zesty minerality that’s the hallmark of Burgundy wines. In fact, if you venture into the vineyards you can find chunks of limestone or marl (limestone mixed with clay) that contain fascinating fossilized sea creatures mixed within.

The easiest way to wrap your brain around Burgundy is to understand that there are really only two grape varieties to remember Pinot Noir & Chardonnay.  Burgundy is not only the original home of these grapes, but the “terroir” (tare-wah) that best expresses their character – elegant, aromatic, complex and highly enjoyable

• Red Burgundy is wine that is made in the Burgundy region of eastern France using 100% Pinot Noir grapes. That’s right, Red Burgundy is just a Pinot Noir.
• White Burgundy is also made in Burgundy, but, since it is white, it is made from 100% Chardonnay grapes.

Burgundy has become known for being the best land in the world for producing both Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, and it is for this reason that Burgundy wines have received such acclaim. In fact, the quality of the land is considered to be so important to the creation of red and white Burgundy, that inside the Burgundy region, vineyards are classified by four levels, depending on how exceptional it is believed one’s plot of land is for growing the grapes. When buying a bottle of Burgundy, one of these four classifications will be labeled on the bottle:

• Grand Cru – This classification is reserved for the best vineyards. Only about 2 percent of all vineyards in Burgundy receive this classification
• Premier Cru – These wines are produced from vineyards that are still considered to be of stellar quality, but just a small step down from Grand Cru. These vineyards make up about 12 percent of all vineyards in Burgundy and can also produce wines that are quite expensive.
• Village Wines – These are Burgundies that are produced from grapes sourced from several vineyards in 1 of the 42 villages of Burgundy. You will know it’s a Village wine because the name of the village where the grapes were sourced will be labeled on the bottle. These wines represent 36 percent of all Burgundy.
• Regional Wines – Finally, Regional wines are considered to be the lowest level of classification. These are wines that are created from a combination of vineyards from a variety of villages within Burgundy, as opposed to a single village, like Village wines. As such, wines of this classification will simply be labeled as a wine of Bourgone. These wines represent 50 percent of all wines produced in Burgundy.

To the ‘vigneron” (winemakers/growers) Burgundy is not only the original home of these grapes, but the terroir that best expresses their character – elegant, aromatic, complex and highly enjoyable.  Pinot noir from Burgundy as “Rustic” “Barnyard” or “Forest-floor”

No other wine region in the world is as well-known for its terroir as Burgundy, where vineyards that are metres apart can produce vastly different wines from the same grapes.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1499707011753{padding-top: 30px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text][/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Sauvignon Blanc Wine

Sauvignon Blanc is a white-wine grape from western France, now successfully grown in emerging and established wine regions all over the world. While the grape may be more readily associated with the Loire Valley (for its pivotal role in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume), it is more likely to have originated from Bordeaux, where it is typically blended with Semillon.

In the late 20th Century, a new region began to gain a reputation as one of the great Sauvignon Blanc regions of the world: Marlborough, at the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island. The rapid development of the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is one of the most dramatic events in the world of wine. The intense and readily accessible flavor of a classic Marlborough “Savvy” (as it is colloquially known in that part of the world) has captured a vast market around the globe, from the United States and Canada to the UK and northern Europe, Australia and Japan. In 2015, Sauvignon Blanc accounted for around 85% of New Zealand’s wine exports.

Outside France and New Zealand, the variety has been relatively successful in New World regions such as California, Chile (particularly the Casablanca and San Antonio valleys) and South Africa. Even in Australia the variety can thrive in the cooler coastal areas of the south. In Europe, the cool, sunny sub-alpine slopes of Alto Adige and Friuli in northern Italy produce high quality Sauvignon Blanc, which is used in blends with native varieties like Friulano or on its own.

The key selling point of Sauvignon Blanc is its straightforwardness – the flavors are rarely hidden away in the background. Also, there is a particularly close correlation between the perceived flavors and their descriptors, making Sauvignon Blanc an ideal wine with which to begin wine-tasting lessons.

Classic Sauvignon Blanc aromas range from grass, nettles, blackcurrant leaf and asparagus to green apples and gooseberries, and to more esoteric notes such as cats’ pee and gunflint. The latter is a sign of a wine from Pouilly-Fume, where the struck flint aroma (known there as pierre à fusil) derives from the presence of high levels of chert in the local limestone soils. This effect is so pronounced and consistent that Sauvignon Blanc was once widely known as Blanc Fumé in this part of the Loire.

When combined with Semillon, as it is in most Bordeaux blanc, Sauvignon is found in some of the world’s finest dry white wines. Although generally a minor component, it also plays an important role alongside Semillon in Sauternes, the closest the variety gets to the top end of the wine spectrum. Since the 1970s, this pairing has become the staple white blend in Australia’s Margaret River region.

A relatively robust, vigorous vine (which explains its popularity with viticulturists), Sauvignon adapts readily to all kinds of growing environments. Because it ripens early, it can be grown in relatively cool climates – its Loire homeland being the most obvious example – while its naturally high acidity allows it to retain a level of freshness even in warmer areas. However, to achieve the true, forward zing that best characterizes Sauvignon Blanc wine, a cooler terroir is needed, ideally with persistent bright sunshine and a dry harvest period.

Strange as it may seem, bright, green Sauvignon Blanc has much in common with dark-skinned Cabernet Sauvignon, and not just in the name and region of origin. The bell-pepper and asparagus flavors detectable in wines of both types are down to the methoxypyrazine flavor compounds in both varieties. Also, they are both vigorous growers that produce generous yields and are inclined to produce overly dense canopies in cooler climates. The two varieties are, in fact, genetically related; Sauvignon became the parent to Cabernet Sauvignon after a natural crossing with Cabernet Franc in an 18th-Century Bordeaux vineyard. Both parent and offspring have now become two of the most widely planted vine varieties in the world.

Synonyms include: Fumé Blanc, Sauvignon Bianco, Muskat-Silvaner, Muskat-Sylvaner.

Food matches for Sauvignon Blanc include:

• Broad bean and chèvre salad
• Grilled asparagus with hollandaise
• Bluff oysters with dill and lime vinaigrette

Region

Sancerre Wine

Sancerre is a small wine district in central France, famous for its crisp, aromatic white wines made from Sauvignon Blanc. It is also known for its high-quality goat cheeses, which are an excellent match for the local wine. The vineyards here surround the eponymous town, which sits atop a bean-shaped hill overlooking the river Loire (see Loire Valley).

The classic Sancerre wine is white, bracingly acidic, and has pungent aromas of gooseberries, grass, nettles, and a hint of stony minerality. Richer, riper examples – particularly those from warmer, west-facing sites with chalky soils – often show fruitier notes of passionfruit and lemon peel. Sancerre is typically less ‘obvious’ than the most famous New World styles of Sauvignon Blanc; less grassy than those from Marlborough and less overtly citrussy than those from Casablanca.

It is only since the mid-20th century, and the creation of a protected Sancerre appellation, that the town’s name has been so strongly associated with white wines. Prior to this, the district was better known for its light-bodied reds. Today, red Sancerre Rouge – made exclusively from Pinot Noir – accounts for less than 20% of the district’s annual production.

Until phylloxera wiped out vast tracts of vineyard in the 1860s, the vineyards here were planted mostly with red-wine varieties such as Gamay and Pinot Noir. White wines were in the minority, and were made not from Sauvignon but from Chasselas. When the solution to the phylloxera epidemic was identified (grafting European vines onto American rootstocks) Sauvignon Blanc vines proved more responsive than these other varieties. Thus Sauvignon came to be Sancerre’s most widely planted variety – a development without which the district and its wines would probably not be as famous as they are today. Small quantities of Chasselas are still grown in the area, mostly on the opposite side of the Loire, around Pouilly-sur-Loire.

Sancerre is located at the very eastern edge of Loire Valley’s main vineyard area, hundreds of miles from the region’s westernmost vineyards. It is in fact closer to the Cote d’Or in Burgundy than to the Loire’s other key wine districts, Anjou and Touraine. Just 50 miles away lies Burgundy’s northernmost district, Chablis, whose famous Kimmeridgian soils are also a feature of the terroir here in Sancerre.

Soil types are a point of pride for Sancerre’s winegrowers. They are divided clearly into three main types: chalk, limestone-gravel and silex (flint). The latter is often given credit for the distinctive, smoky pierre à fusil (gunflint) aroma found in some Sauvignon from this part of the Loire Valley. The aroma is clear in some Sancerre wines – most obviously those from the eastern vineyards closer to the Loire. It is the reason behind Sauvignon’s traditional pseudonym Blanc Fumé – which survives in the name of Sancerre’s neighbor and rival, Pouilly-Fume.

The Sancerre viticultural area covers a 15-mile stretch of rolling hills on the west bank of the Loire. Roughly 7000 acres (2800ha) of vines are now devoted to producing the appellation’s wines, almost double the acreage when the Sancerre appellation was created in November 1936. The Loire Valley wine industry has endured significant economic hardship in the past decade (due to a combination of poor vintages and the increasingly competitive international wine market), but Sancerre has felt this pressure less keenly than other districts. Its strong historical reputation – coupled with the appeal of its wine style to modern wine consumers – has allowed Sancerre to retain its status as the Loire Valley’s “king of the hill”.

Producer Notes

Pascal Gitton welcomes you and invites you to discover his wines of Sancerre, Pouilly and Côtes de Duras.

Our Wines

Sancerre

Established in 1945 by Marcel Gitton with barely one acre, the Gitton Père & Fils Estates to-day cover close on 60 acres (27 ha) situated amongst the best areas of the region . The vineyards are located on various distinctive soils of the villages of Sancerre and Ménétréol . These include flint, and different types of chalk.

At present the property is managed by the son Pascal and his wife Denise. The Gitton Family has become notorious over the years for its respect of traditions, the main philosophy of the house …

Since each vineyard has its own specificity, every effort is made to vinify the individual grape harvests separately so as to preserve the subtle qualities resulting from the various soils . Each vineyard is vinified without the use of artificial yeast or enzymes, and “single” bottled in most cases .

All our wines are estate bottled, nor do we deal in any wines other than those from the Estate . Certain white wines are commercialised after several years of maturing in bottles.

The Pinot Noir is vinified as red or rosé (blush) and covers 9 acres (4ha). The rest of the property, 50 acres (23ha) is planted in Sauvignon Blanc, and the average age of the vines is around 30 years.

The Gitton Family’s ambition is to produce distinctive wines, each having its own character, respecting the fruit of the vines, the particularities of the soils, and thus to provide wine-lovers with a range of wines calculated to satisfy the most discriminating palates.

Pouilly

The twin sister of Sancerre, Pouilly is located 6 miles from Sancerre just on the opposite bank of the river Loire. The 16 acres (7,5 Ha) of vineyards of the Gitton Family stretch out on the communes of St Andelain, chalky soils, and Pouilly/Loire, chalky and marly soils. Kimmeridge marl, gives to the Sauvignon ( locally called “Blanc Fumé” ) an extra finesse and the scent of violets typical of the Pouilly Fumé. The acre and a half of Pouilly sur Loire is planted with the varietals Chasselas and Sauvignon. All our wines are vinified in stainless steel vats to keep their fruitiness, and freshness.

Côteaux du Giennois

Also previously known as Côtes de Gien, the Taureau vineyard is located between the hamlets of Bohème and Fontaine Morin, in Cosne sur Loire. Just two hours South of Paris and only a few miles away from Sancerre or Pouilly , the vineyards, overlooking the Nohain valley were already mentioned as early as 1450. The Gitton Family cultivates four and a half acres of Sauvignon and one of Pinot Noir . The Sauvignon is grown on red flint and chalk and the wine resembles its neighbouring appellations : Pouilly and Sancerre. The vines being just ten years of age, certainly, when they reach their full strength the similarity will become even closer …

Côtes de Duras

Purchased in 1989, by the Gitton Family, Chateau Lafon was already exporting its wines to Netherlands in 1762 ! Situated an hour east of Bordeaux the vineyards of Chateau Lafon spread over almost 28 acres (13 Ha) at the highest point of the region on a property of 66 acres (30ha). The amphitheatre shaped slope, where the vineyards are situated, almost unique in the Appellation Duras, enjoys sunlight throughout the day, allowing the vines to gain full benefit of long hours of sun.

One third of the total vineyards has been planted in 1950 and 1952, the rest in the early eighties. The 16 acres (7,5 Ha) of white varietals (Sauvignon, Semillon, Muscadelle) are hand picked, as well as 12 acres (5,5 Ha) of reds (Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec). They are vinified as separate varieties, blended or not according to the vintage conditions[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Sauvignon Blanc Wine

Sauvignon Blanc is a white-wine grape from western France, now successfully grown in emerging and established wine regions all over the world. While the grape may be more readily associated with the Loire Valley (for its pivotal role in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume), it is more likely to have originated from Bordeaux, where it is typically blended with Semillon.

In the late 20th Century, a new region began to gain a reputation as one of the great Sauvignon Blanc regions of the world: Marlborough, at the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island. The rapid development of the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is one of the most dramatic events in the world of wine. The intense and readily accessible flavor of a classic Marlborough “Savvy” (as it is colloquially known in that part of the world) has captured a vast market around the globe, from the United States and Canada to the UK and northern Europe, Australia and Japan. In 2015, Sauvignon Blanc accounted for around 85% of New Zealand’s wine exports.

Outside France and New Zealand, the variety has been relatively successful in New World regions such as California, Chile (particularly the Casablanca and San Antonio valleys) and South Africa. Even in Australia the variety can thrive in the cooler coastal areas of the south. In Europe, the cool, sunny sub-alpine slopes of Alto Adige and Friuli in northern Italy produce high quality Sauvignon Blanc, which is used in blends with native varieties like Friulano or on its own.

The key selling point of Sauvignon Blanc is its straightforwardness – the flavors are rarely hidden away in the background. Also, there is a particularly close correlation between the perceived flavors and their descriptors, making Sauvignon Blanc an ideal wine with which to begin wine-tasting lessons.

Classic Sauvignon Blanc aromas range from grass, nettles, blackcurrant leaf and asparagus to green apples and gooseberries, and to more esoteric notes such as cats’ pee and gunflint. The latter is a sign of a wine from Pouilly-Fume, where the struck flint aroma (known there as pierre à fusil) derives from the presence of high levels of chert in the local limestone soils. This effect is so pronounced and consistent that Sauvignon Blanc was once widely known as Blanc Fumé in this part of the Loire.

When combined with Semillon, as it is in most Bordeaux blanc, Sauvignon is found in some of the world’s finest dry white wines. Although generally a minor component, it also plays an important role alongside Semillon in Sauternes, the closest the variety gets to the top end of the wine spectrum. Since the 1970s, this pairing has become the staple white blend in Australia’s Margaret River region.

A relatively robust, vigorous vine (which explains its popularity with viticulturists), Sauvignon adapts readily to all kinds of growing environments. Because it ripens early, it can be grown in relatively cool climates – its Loire homeland being the most obvious example – while its naturally high acidity allows it to retain a level of freshness even in warmer areas. However, to achieve the true, forward zing that best characterizes Sauvignon Blanc wine, a cooler terroir is needed, ideally with persistent bright sunshine and a dry harvest period.

Strange as it may seem, bright, green Sauvignon Blanc has much in common with dark-skinned Cabernet Sauvignon, and not just in the name and region of origin. The bell-pepper and asparagus flavors detectable in wines of both types are down to the methoxypyrazine flavor compounds in both varieties. Also, they are both vigorous growers that produce generous yields and are inclined to produce overly dense canopies in cooler climates. The two varieties are, in fact, genetically related; Sauvignon became the parent to Cabernet Sauvignon after a natural crossing with Cabernet Franc in an 18th-Century Bordeaux vineyard. Both parent and offspring have now become two of the most widely planted vine varieties in the world.

Synonyms include: Fumé Blanc, Sauvignon Bianco, Muskat-Silvaner, Muskat-Sylvaner.

Food matches for Sauvignon Blanc include:

• Broad bean and chèvre salad
• Grilled asparagus with hollandaise
• Bluff oysters with dill and lime vinaigrette

Region

Sancerre Wine

Sancerre is a small wine district in central France, famous for its crisp, aromatic white wines made from Sauvignon Blanc. It is also known for its high-quality goat cheeses, which are an excellent match for the local wine. The vineyards here surround the eponymous town, which sits atop a bean-shaped hill overlooking the river Loire (see Loire Valley).

The classic Sancerre wine is white, bracingly acidic, and has pungent aromas of gooseberries, grass, nettles, and a hint of stony minerality. Richer, riper examples – particularly those from warmer, west-facing sites with chalky soils – often show fruitier notes of passionfruit and lemon peel. Sancerre is typically less ‘obvious’ than the most famous New World styles of Sauvignon Blanc; less grassy than those from Marlborough and less overtly citrussy than those from Casablanca.

It is only since the mid-20th century, and the creation of a protected Sancerre appellation, that the town’s name has been so strongly associated with white wines. Prior to this, the district was better known for its light-bodied reds. Today, red Sancerre Rouge – made exclusively from Pinot Noir – accounts for less than 20% of the district’s annual production.

Until phylloxera wiped out vast tracts of vineyard in the 1860s, the vineyards here were planted mostly with red-wine varieties such as Gamay and Pinot Noir. White wines were in the minority, and were made not from Sauvignon but from Chasselas. When the solution to the phylloxera epidemic was identified (grafting European vines onto American rootstocks) Sauvignon Blanc vines proved more responsive than these other varieties. Thus Sauvignon came to be Sancerre’s most widely planted variety – a development without which the district and its wines would probably not be as famous as they are today. Small quantities of Chasselas are still grown in the area, mostly on the opposite side of the Loire, around Pouilly-sur-Loire.

Sancerre is located at the very eastern edge of Loire Valley’s main vineyard area, hundreds of miles from the region’s westernmost vineyards. It is in fact closer to the Cote d’Or in Burgundy than to the Loire’s other key wine districts, Anjou and Touraine. Just 50 miles away lies Burgundy’s northernmost district, Chablis, whose famous Kimmeridgian soils are also a feature of the terroir here in Sancerre.

Soil types are a point of pride for Sancerre’s winegrowers. They are divided clearly into three main types: chalk, limestone-gravel and silex (flint). The latter is often given credit for the distinctive, smoky pierre à fusil (gunflint) aroma found in some Sauvignon from this part of the Loire Valley. The aroma is clear in some Sancerre wines – most obviously those from the eastern vineyards closer to the Loire. It is the reason behind Sauvignon’s traditional pseudonym Blanc Fumé – which survives in the name of Sancerre’s neighbor and rival, Pouilly-Fume.

The Sancerre viticultural area covers a 15-mile stretch of rolling hills on the west bank of the Loire. Roughly 7000 acres (2800ha) of vines are now devoted to producing the appellation’s wines, almost double the acreage when the Sancerre appellation was created in November 1936. The Loire Valley wine industry has endured significant economic hardship in the past decade (due to a combination of poor vintages and the increasingly competitive international wine market), but Sancerre has felt this pressure less keenly than other districts. Its strong historical reputation – coupled with the appeal of its wine style to modern wine consumers – has allowed Sancerre to retain its status as the Loire Valley’s “king of the hill”.

Producer Notes

Pascal Gitton welcomes you and invites you to discover his wines of Sancerre, Pouilly and Côtes de Duras.

Our Wines

Sancerre

Established in 1945 by Marcel Gitton with barely one acre, the Gitton Père & Fils Estates to-day cover close on 60 acres (27 ha) situated amongst the best areas of the region . The vineyards are located on various distinctive soils of the villages of Sancerre and Ménétréol . These include flint, and different types of chalk.

At present the property is managed by the son Pascal and his wife Denise. The Gitton Family has become notorious over the years for its respect of traditions, the main philosophy of the house …

Since each vineyard has its own specificity, every effort is made to vinify the individual grape harvests separately so as to preserve the subtle qualities resulting from the various soils . Each vineyard is vinified without the use of artificial yeast or enzymes, and “single” bottled in most cases .

All our wines are estate bottled, nor do we deal in any wines other than those from the Estate . Certain white wines are commercialised after several years of maturing in bottles.

The Pinot Noir is vinified as red or rosé (blush) and covers 9 acres (4ha). The rest of the property, 50 acres (23ha) is planted in Sauvignon Blanc, and the average age of the vines is around 30 years.

The Gitton Family’s ambition is to produce distinctive wines, each having its own character, respecting the fruit of the vines, the particularities of the soils, and thus to provide wine-lovers with a range of wines calculated to satisfy the most discriminating palates.

Pouilly

The twin sister of Sancerre, Pouilly is located 6 miles from Sancerre just on the opposite bank of the river Loire. The 16 acres (7,5 Ha) of vineyards of the Gitton Family stretch out on the communes of St Andelain, chalky soils, and Pouilly/Loire, chalky and marly soils. Kimmeridge marl, gives to the Sauvignon ( locally called “Blanc Fumé” ) an extra finesse and the scent of violets typical of the Pouilly Fumé. The acre and a half of Pouilly sur Loire is planted with the varietals Chasselas and Sauvignon. All our wines are vinified in stainless steel vats to keep their fruitiness, and freshness.

Côteaux du Giennois

Also previously known as Côtes de Gien, the Taureau vineyard is located between the hamlets of Bohème and Fontaine Morin, in Cosne sur Loire. Just two hours South of Paris and only a few miles away from Sancerre or Pouilly , the vineyards, overlooking the Nohain valley were already mentioned as early as 1450. The Gitton Family cultivates four and a half acres of Sauvignon and one of Pinot Noir . The Sauvignon is grown on red flint and chalk and the wine resembles its neighbouring appellations : Pouilly and Sancerre. The vines being just ten years of age, certainly, when they reach their full strength the similarity will become even closer …

Côtes de Duras

Purchased in 1989, by the Gitton Family, Chateau Lafon was already exporting its wines to Netherlands in 1762 ! Situated an hour east of Bordeaux the vineyards of Chateau Lafon spread over almost 28 acres (13 Ha) at the highest point of the region on a property of 66 acres (30ha). The amphitheatre shaped slope, where the vineyards are situated, almost unique in the Appellation Duras, enjoys sunlight throughout the day, allowing the vines to gain full benefit of long hours of sun.

One third of the total vineyards has been planted in 1950 and 1952, the rest in the early eighties. The 16 acres (7,5 Ha) of white varietals (Sauvignon, Semillon, Muscadelle) are hand picked, as well as 12 acres (5,5 Ha) of reds (Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec). They are vinified as separate varieties, blended or not according to the vintage conditions[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

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Sauvignon Blanc Wine

Sauvignon Blanc is a white-wine grape from western France, now successfully grown in emerging and established wine regions all over the world. While the grape may be more readily associated with the Loire Valley (for its pivotal role in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume), it is more likely to have originated from Bordeaux, where it is typically blended with Semillon.

In the late 20th Century, a new region began to gain a reputation as one of the great Sauvignon Blanc regions of the world: Marlborough, at the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island. The rapid development of the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is one of the most dramatic events in the world of wine. The intense and readily accessible flavor of a classic Marlborough “Savvy” (as it is colloquially known in that part of the world) has captured a vast market around the globe, from the United States and Canada to the UK and northern Europe, Australia and Japan. In 2015, Sauvignon Blanc accounted for around 85% of New Zealand’s wine exports.

Outside France and New Zealand, the variety has been relatively successful in New World regions such as California, Chile (particularly the Casablanca and San Antonio valleys) and South Africa. Even in Australia the variety can thrive in the cooler coastal areas of the south. In Europe, the cool, sunny sub-alpine slopes of Alto Adige and Friuli in northern Italy produce high quality Sauvignon Blanc, which is used in blends with native varieties like Friulano or on its own.

The key selling point of Sauvignon Blanc is its straightforwardness – the flavors are rarely hidden away in the background. Also, there is a particularly close correlation between the perceived flavors and their descriptors, making Sauvignon Blanc an ideal wine with which to begin wine-tasting lessons.

Classic Sauvignon Blanc aromas range from grass, nettles, blackcurrant leaf and asparagus to green apples and gooseberries, and to more esoteric notes such as cats’ pee and gunflint. The latter is a sign of a wine from Pouilly-Fume, where the struck flint aroma (known there as pierre à fusil) derives from the presence of high levels of chert in the local limestone soils. This effect is so pronounced and consistent that Sauvignon Blanc was once widely known as Blanc Fumé in this part of the Loire.

When combined with Semillon, as it is in most Bordeaux blanc, Sauvignon is found in some of the world’s finest dry white wines. Although generally a minor component, it also plays an important role alongside Semillon in Sauternes, the closest the variety gets to the top end of the wine spectrum. Since the 1970s, this pairing has become the staple white blend in Australia’s Margaret River region.

A relatively robust, vigorous vine (which explains its popularity with viticulturists), Sauvignon adapts readily to all kinds of growing environments. Because it ripens early, it can be grown in relatively cool climates – its Loire homeland being the most obvious example – while its naturally high acidity allows it to retain a level of freshness even in warmer areas. However, to achieve the true, forward zing that best characterizes Sauvignon Blanc wine, a cooler terroir is needed, ideally with persistent bright sunshine and a dry harvest period.

Strange as it may seem, bright, green Sauvignon Blanc has much in common with dark-skinned Cabernet Sauvignon, and not just in the name and region of origin. The bell-pepper and asparagus flavors detectable in wines of both types are down to the methoxypyrazine flavor compounds in both varieties. Also, they are both vigorous growers that produce generous yields and are inclined to produce overly dense canopies in cooler climates. The two varieties are, in fact, genetically related; Sauvignon became the parent to Cabernet Sauvignon after a natural crossing with Cabernet Franc in an 18th-Century Bordeaux vineyard. Both parent and offspring have now become two of the most widely planted vine varieties in the world.

Synonyms include: Fumé Blanc, Sauvignon Bianco, Muskat-Silvaner, Muskat-Sylvaner.

Food matches for Sauvignon Blanc include:

• Broad bean and chèvre salad
• Grilled asparagus with hollandaise
• Bluff oysters with dill and lime vinaigrette

Region

Sancerre Wine

Sancerre is a small wine district in central France, famous for its crisp, aromatic white wines made from Sauvignon Blanc. It is also known for its high-quality goat cheeses, which are an excellent match for the local wine. The vineyards here surround the eponymous town, which sits atop a bean-shaped hill overlooking the river Loire (see Loire Valley).

The classic Sancerre wine is white, bracingly acidic, and has pungent aromas of gooseberries, grass, nettles, and a hint of stony minerality. Richer, riper examples – particularly those from warmer, west-facing sites with chalky soils – often show fruitier notes of passionfruit and lemon peel. Sancerre is typically less ‘obvious’ than the most famous New World styles of Sauvignon Blanc; less grassy than those from Marlborough and less overtly citrussy than those from Casablanca.

It is only since the mid-20th century, and the creation of a protected Sancerre appellation, that the town’s name has been so strongly associated with white wines. Prior to this, the district was better known for its light-bodied reds. Today, red Sancerre Rouge – made exclusively from Pinot Noir – accounts for less than 20% of the district’s annual production.

Until phylloxera wiped out vast tracts of vineyard in the 1860s, the vineyards here were planted mostly with red-wine varieties such as Gamay and Pinot Noir. White wines were in the minority, and were made not from Sauvignon but from Chasselas. When the solution to the phylloxera epidemic was identified (grafting European vines onto American rootstocks) Sauvignon Blanc vines proved more responsive than these other varieties. Thus Sauvignon came to be Sancerre’s most widely planted variety – a development without which the district and its wines would probably not be as famous as they are today. Small quantities of Chasselas are still grown in the area, mostly on the opposite side of the Loire, around Pouilly-sur-Loire.

Sancerre is located at the very eastern edge of Loire Valley’s main vineyard area, hundreds of miles from the region’s westernmost vineyards. It is in fact closer to the Cote d’Or in Burgundy than to the Loire’s other key wine districts, Anjou and Touraine. Just 50 miles away lies Burgundy’s northernmost district, Chablis, whose famous Kimmeridgian soils are also a feature of the terroir here in Sancerre.

Soil types are a point of pride for Sancerre’s winegrowers. They are divided clearly into three main types: chalk, limestone-gravel and silex (flint). The latter is often given credit for the distinctive, smoky pierre à fusil (gunflint) aroma found in some Sauvignon from this part of the Loire Valley. The aroma is clear in some Sancerre wines – most obviously those from the eastern vineyards closer to the Loire. It is the reason behind Sauvignon’s traditional pseudonym Blanc Fumé – which survives in the name of Sancerre’s neighbor and rival, Pouilly-Fume.

The Sancerre viticultural area covers a 15-mile stretch of rolling hills on the west bank of the Loire. Roughly 7000 acres (2800ha) of vines are now devoted to producing the appellation’s wines, almost double the acreage when the Sancerre appellation was created in November 1936. The Loire Valley wine industry has endured significant economic hardship in the past decade (due to a combination of poor vintages and the increasingly competitive international wine market), but Sancerre has felt this pressure less keenly than other districts. Its strong historical reputation – coupled with the appeal of its wine style to modern wine consumers – has allowed Sancerre to retain its status as the Loire Valley’s “king of the hill”.

Producer Notes

Pascal Gitton welcomes you and invites you to discover his wines of Sancerre, Pouilly and Côtes de Duras.

Our Wines

Sancerre

Established in 1945 by Marcel Gitton with barely one acre, the Gitton Père & Fils Estates to-day cover close on 60 acres (27 ha) situated amongst the best areas of the region . The vineyards are located on various distinctive soils of the villages of Sancerre and Ménétréol . These include flint, and different types of chalk.

At present the property is managed by the son Pascal and his wife Denise. The Gitton Family has become notorious over the years for its respect of traditions, the main philosophy of the house …

Since each vineyard has its own specificity, every effort is made to vinify the individual grape harvests separately so as to preserve the subtle qualities resulting from the various soils . Each vineyard is vinified without the use of artificial yeast or enzymes, and “single” bottled in most cases .

All our wines are estate bottled, nor do we deal in any wines other than those from the Estate . Certain white wines are commercialised after several years of maturing in bottles.

The Pinot Noir is vinified as red or rosé (blush) and covers 9 acres (4ha). The rest of the property, 50 acres (23ha) is planted in Sauvignon Blanc, and the average age of the vines is around 30 years.

The Gitton Family’s ambition is to produce distinctive wines, each having its own character, respecting the fruit of the vines, the particularities of the soils, and thus to provide wine-lovers with a range of wines calculated to satisfy the most discriminating palates.

Pouilly

The twin sister of Sancerre, Pouilly is located 6 miles from Sancerre just on the opposite bank of the river Loire. The 16 acres (7,5 Ha) of vineyards of the Gitton Family stretch out on the communes of St Andelain, chalky soils, and Pouilly/Loire, chalky and marly soils. Kimmeridge marl, gives to the Sauvignon ( locally called “Blanc Fumé” ) an extra finesse and the scent of violets typical of the Pouilly Fumé. The acre and a half of Pouilly sur Loire is planted with the varietals Chasselas and Sauvignon. All our wines are vinified in stainless steel vats to keep their fruitiness, and freshness.

Côteaux du Giennois

Also previously known as Côtes de Gien, the Taureau vineyard is located between the hamlets of Bohème and Fontaine Morin, in Cosne sur Loire. Just two hours South of Paris and only a few miles away from Sancerre or Pouilly , the vineyards, overlooking the Nohain valley were already mentioned as early as 1450. The Gitton Family cultivates four and a half acres of Sauvignon and one of Pinot Noir . The Sauvignon is grown on red flint and chalk and the wine resembles its neighbouring appellations : Pouilly and Sancerre. The vines being just ten years of age, certainly, when they reach their full strength the similarity will become even closer …

Côtes de Duras

Purchased in 1989, by the Gitton Family, Chateau Lafon was already exporting its wines to Netherlands in 1762 ! Situated an hour east of Bordeaux the vineyards of Chateau Lafon spread over almost 28 acres (13 Ha) at the highest point of the region on a property of 66 acres (30ha). The amphitheatre shaped slope, where the vineyards are situated, almost unique in the Appellation Duras, enjoys sunlight throughout the day, allowing the vines to gain full benefit of long hours of sun.

One third of the total vineyards has been planted in 1950 and 1952, the rest in the early eighties. The 16 acres (7,5 Ha) of white varietals (Sauvignon, Semillon, Muscadelle) are hand picked, as well as 12 acres (5,5 Ha) of reds (Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec). They are vinified as separate varieties, blended or not according to the vintage conditions[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

The post Gitton Sancerre La Vigne du Larrey 2012 appeared first on WineYou.

Sauvignon Blanc Wine

Sauvignon Blanc is a white-wine grape from western France, now successfully grown in emerging and established wine regions all over the world. While the grape may be more readily associated with the Loire Valley (for its pivotal role in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume), it is more likely to have originated from Bordeaux, where it is typically blended with Semillon.

In the late 20th Century, a new region began to gain a reputation as one of the great Sauvignon Blanc regions of the world: Marlborough, at the northern tip of New Zealand’s South Island. The rapid development of the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc is one of the most dramatic events in the world of wine. The intense and readily accessible flavor of a classic Marlborough “Savvy” (as it is colloquially known in that part of the world) has captured a vast market around the globe, from the United States and Canada to the UK and northern Europe, Australia and Japan. In 2015, Sauvignon Blanc accounted for around 85% of New Zealand’s wine exports.

Outside France and New Zealand, the variety has been relatively successful in New World regions such as California, Chile (particularly the Casablanca and San Antonio valleys) and South Africa. Even in Australia the variety can thrive in the cooler coastal areas of the south. In Europe, the cool, sunny sub-alpine slopes of Alto Adige and Friuli in northern Italy produce high quality Sauvignon Blanc, which is used in blends with native varieties like Friulano or on its own.

The key selling point of Sauvignon Blanc is its straightforwardness – the flavors are rarely hidden away in the background. Also, there is a particularly close correlation between the perceived flavors and their descriptors, making Sauvignon Blanc an ideal wine with which to begin wine-tasting lessons.

Classic Sauvignon Blanc aromas range from grass, nettles, blackcurrant leaf and asparagus to green apples and gooseberries, and to more esoteric notes such as cats’ pee and gunflint. The latter is a sign of a wine from Pouilly-Fume, where the struck flint aroma (known there as pierre à fusil) derives from the presence of high levels of chert in the local limestone soils. This effect is so pronounced and consistent that Sauvignon Blanc was once widely known as Blanc Fumé in this part of the Loire.

When combined with Semillon, as it is in most Bordeaux blanc, Sauvignon is found in some of the world’s finest dry white wines. Although generally a minor component, it also plays an important role alongside Semillon in Sauternes, the closest the variety gets to the top end of the wine spectrum. Since the 1970s, this pairing has become the staple white blend in Australia’s Margaret River region.

A relatively robust, vigorous vine (which explains its popularity with viticulturists), Sauvignon adapts readily to all kinds of growing environments. Because it ripens early, it can be grown in relatively cool climates – its Loire homeland being the most obvious example – while its naturally high acidity allows it to retain a level of freshness even in warmer areas. However, to achieve the true, forward zing that best characterizes Sauvignon Blanc wine, a cooler terroir is needed, ideally with persistent bright sunshine and a dry harvest period.

Strange as it may seem, bright, green Sauvignon Blanc has much in common with dark-skinned Cabernet Sauvignon, and not just in the name and region of origin. The bell-pepper and asparagus flavors detectable in wines of both types are down to the methoxypyrazine flavor compounds in both varieties. Also, they are both vigorous growers that produce generous yields and are inclined to produce overly dense canopies in cooler climates. The two varieties are, in fact, genetically related; Sauvignon became the parent to Cabernet Sauvignon after a natural crossing with Cabernet Franc in an 18th-Century Bordeaux vineyard. Both parent and offspring have now become two of the most widely planted vine varieties in the world.

Synonyms include: Fumé Blanc, Sauvignon Bianco, Muskat-Silvaner, Muskat-Sylvaner.

Food matches for Sauvignon Blanc include:

• Broad bean and chèvre salad
• Grilled asparagus with hollandaise
• Bluff oysters with dill and lime vinaigrette

Region

Pouilly-Fume Wine

Pouilly-Fume – a dry white wine made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes – is one of the Loire Valley’s most revered wines. It is rivaled in this regard only by Sancerre, just the other side of the Loire River, and perhaps Vouvray.

The Pouilly-Fume name is composed of two parts. ‘Pouilly’ is short for Pouilly-sur-Loire, the village the wines come from. ‘Fume’ is short for Blanc Fumé , which is the local nickname for Sauvignon Blanc. It is sometimes understandably confused with Pouilly-Fuisse (a Chardonnay-based wine from southern Burgundy).

The fumé in Blanc Fumé is French for ‘smoky’. It denotes the struck gunflint aroma that characterizes the local Sauvignon Blanc wines. This distinctive smell is often referred to as pierre à fusil, which means ‘flint’ (literally ‘rifle stone’). It is a key point of differentiation for Pouilly-Fume’s winemakers, and a source of great local pride. Local winemaking legend Didier Dagueneau even named one of his top bottlings ‘Silex’ a traditional synonym for flint. The aroma is thought by some to come from the flint that litters the local vineyards, but this remains unproven.

Aromatically speaking, Pouilly-Fume wines are some of France’s most vivacious, although they are typically less pungent than the notoriously grassy styles of Sauvignon Blanc produced in New Zealand (particularly Marlborough). They have a vibrant streak of green fruit aromas (lime, green apple, gooseberry) supported by mineral aromas of wet wool, slate and smoky flint.

The official Pouilly-Fume viticultural area encompasses seven parishes on the right bank of the Loire – from Mesves-sur-Loire in the south to Saint-Martin-sur-Nohain, a few miles to the north. These villages are technically in Burgundy, although Pouilly-Fume remains a quintessentially ‘Loire Valley’ wine. The Pouilly-Fumé appellation title was created in 1937 (originally as Blanc Fumé de Pouilly) at the same time as the appellation for the village’s Chasselas-based wines, Pouilly-sur-Loire.

Until phylloxera wiped out vast tracts of vines in the 1860s, the vineyards around Pouilly-sur-Loire grew mostly Gamay and Pinot Noir. When the solution to the phylloxera epidemic was identified – grafting European vines onto American rootstocks – Sauvignon Blanc proved to be more responsive to grafting than these red varieties. Thus Sauvignon came to be Pouilly’s most widely planted grape variety.

The 1970s and 1980s saw Pouilly-Fume’s popularity increase greatly, along with the vineyard area devoted to Sauvignon Blanc vines (at the cost of the Chasselas). There were nearly 2840 acres (1150ha) of vines producing Pouilly-Fume in 2005, vastly more than the 105 acres (43ha) planted with Chasselas – a demonstration of the immense success that Sauvignon Blanc has achieved here.

Sauvignon Blanc is known more for its lack of subtlety than its complexity or depth of flavor. It is an ‘obvious’ grape variety. No matter how ideal the vintage, and how skilled the winemaking, a Sauvignon-based wine will always be slightly limited in its complexity. For this reason, the 1980s saw a number of producers introducing an element of oak into their Pouilly-Fume wines, either via barrel fermentation or barrel maturation, or both. The resulting wines were aromatically and texturally more complex than the standard unoaked wines, and also better-suited for mid-term cellaring. Most modern Pouilly-Fume will improve in bottle for between three and six years.

In true French style, the local terroir is given the credit for Pouilly-Fume’s very particular aroma and flavor. It has been intricately studied and mapped. The key soil types are divided into limestone, marlstone, clays of various compositions and the all-important flint. Limestone and flint are the most important. Both have excellent heat-retention and light-reflecting properties and help the vines to achieve optimal ripeness in the cool growing season here.

Producer Notes

Pascal Gitton welcomes you and invites you to discover his wines of Sancerre, Pouilly and Côtes de Duras.

Our Wines

Sancerre

Established in 1945 by Marcel Gitton with barely one acre, the Gitton Père & Fils Estates to-day cover close on 60 acres (27 ha) situated amongst the best areas of the region . The vineyards are located on various distinctive soils of the villages of Sancerre and Ménétréol . These include flint, and different types of chalk.

At present the property is managed by the son Pascal and his wife Denise. The Gitton Family has become notorious over the years for its respect of traditions, the main philosophy of the house …

Since each vineyard has its own specificity, every effort is made to vinify the individual grape harvests separately so as to preserve the subtle qualities resulting from the various soils . Each vineyard is vinified without the use of artificial yeast or enzymes, and “single” bottled in most cases .

All our wines are estate bottled, nor do we deal in any wines other than those from the Estate . Certain white wines are commercialised after several years of maturing in bottles.

The Pinot Noir is vinified as red or rosé (blush) and covers 9 acres (4ha). The rest of the property, 50 acres (23ha) is planted in Sauvignon Blanc, and the average age of the vines is around 30 years.

The Gitton Family’s ambition is to produce distinctive wines, each having its own character, respecting the fruit of the vines, the particularities of the soils, and thus to provide wine-lovers with a range of wines calculated to satisfy the most discriminating palates.

Pouilly

The twin sister of Sancerre, Pouilly is located 6 miles from Sancerre just on the opposite bank of the river Loire. The 16 acres (7,5 Ha) of vineyards of the Gitton Family stretch out on the communes of St Andelain, chalky soils, and Pouilly/Loire, chalky and marly soils. Kimmeridge marl, gives to the Sauvignon ( locally called “Blanc Fumé” ) an extra finesse and the scent of violets typical of the Pouilly Fumé. The acre and a half of Pouilly sur Loire is planted with the varietals Chasselas and Sauvignon. All our wines are vinified in stainless steel vats to keep their fruitiness, and freshness.

Côteaux du Giennois

Also previously known as Côtes de Gien, the Taureau vineyard is located between the hamlets of Bohème and Fontaine Morin, in Cosne sur Loire. Just two hours South of Paris and only a few miles away from Sancerre or Pouilly , the vineyards, overlooking the Nohain valley were already mentioned as early as 1450. The Gitton Family cultivates four and a half acres of Sauvignon and one of Pinot Noir . The Sauvignon is grown on red flint and chalk and the wine resembles its neighbouring appellations : Pouilly and Sancerre. The vines being just ten years of age, certainly, when they reach their full strength the similarity will become even closer …

Côtes de Duras

Purchased in 1989, by the Gitton Family, Chateau Lafon was already exporting its wines to Netherlands in 1762 ! Situated an hour east of Bordeaux the vineyards of Chateau Lafon spread over almost 28 acres (13 Ha) at the highest point of the region on a property of 66 acres (30ha). The amphitheatre shaped slope, where the vineyards are situated, almost unique in the Appellation Duras, enjoys sunlight throughout the day, allowing the vines to gain full benefit of long hours of sun.

One third of the total vineyards has been planted in 1950 and 1952, the rest in the early eighties. The 16 acres (7,5 Ha) of white varietals (Sauvignon, Semillon, Muscadelle) are hand picked, as well as 12 acres (5,5 Ha) of reds (Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Malbec). They are vinified as separate varieties, blended or not according to the vintage conditions[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

The post Gitton Pouilly-Fume Clos Joanne d’Orion 2014 appeared first on WineYou.

98 points Decanter
Established as a winery in 1612 by Capuchin friars, Domaine Weinbach takes its name from the little stream which runs through the property, at the foot of the grand cru hill Schlossberg, whose slope demands terraced viticulture on its sandy soils, with altitudes ranging from 230m-400m. This wine is sourced on the upper part of the hill, where the soil is very shallow. Rebecca Palmer: Expressive, perfumed fruit, incredible purity and finesse. Everything in beautiful proportion – just ripe enough, just rounded enough, perfumed and mineral. Acids are fresh and crystalline. Refreshing with a long, perfumed finish. Marcel Orford-Williams: Gorgeous, such charm. Eric Zwiebel MS: Aromatic, pungent, candied grapefruit, lemon, stony, rich oily texture, highly mineral. Blind tasted by Rebecca Palmer, Marcel Orford-WilliamsEric Zwiebel, Decanter

Grape Variety

Riesling Wine

Riesling is a light-skinned, aromatic grape of German origin which is – if the majority of top wine critics are to be believed – the world’s finest white wine grape variety.

For many, the claim above may seem at odds with the sea of chaptalized, low-quality wine exported from Germany in the late 20th Century. In truth, very little of that infamous wine was Riesling at all, but instead higher-yielding grapes such as Müller-Thurgau and Silvaner), but the reputation has nonetheless stuck. Riesling has also been stereotyped as just a sweet grape, used only to make sticky wines. But while botrytized Rieslings are among the finest sweet wines in the world, the majority of global Riesling wines are either dry or off-dry.

Riesling vines above the Mosel

The Riesling vine holds a very different place in the wine world to such great grapes as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Chardonnay. While these immensely popular varieties have conquered every corner of the winegrowing world, Riesling is conspicuously absent from the core wine regions of France, Spain and Italy. Its fanbase is smaller, but fervent.

Riesling’s spiritual home is unquestionably the regions that trace the middle Rhine and the lower Mosel, two of Europe’s great wine rivers. Here we find the key wine regions of Germany, most famously Mosel, Rheinhessen, Rheingau and Pfalz. Riesling vines cover the steep, slate-rich hillsides above these famous rivers, and are used to make crisp, refreshing wines with pronounced acidity.

On the other side of the Rhine lies Alsace, once German but now part of France. Here, Riesling is the most important wine grape variety in terms of both quantity and (arguably) quality. Alsace Riesling has its own individual style, richer and more generous than those made in Germany. This is made possible by the region’s sunny, dry mesoclimate and the shelter provided by the Vosges Mountains.

Austria also produces a large quantity of Riesling, most notably from its eastern Wachau and Kremstal regions. This is made mostly in drier styles, although Lake Neusiedl, just southeast of Vienna, creates a sufficiently humid climate for the production of sweet botrytized Riesling.

Happily, Riesling has found several New World niches to which it is very well suited. The high quality Rieslings now made in Australia’s Clare and Eden valleys have proved this with particular competence. Most notably, Clare Valley Riesling has emerged as a style in its own right, with crisp, citrus-scented acidity and aromas of toast and honeysuckle. Just across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand is also making high-quality Riesling in Canterbury and Otago, while South Africa’s Riesling is also showing promise. The famous ice wines of Canada are made mostly from Riesling or Vidal, and have further demonstrated the cold-resistant characteristics of this hard-wooded variety.

There are various clones and sub-varieties of Riesling in existence, and the variety has multiple variations on its name (e.g. Johannisberg Riesling, Rhine Riesling). To complicate matters, there are several white grape varieties that bear the name Riesling, but are entirely unrelated. The most notable of these are Welschriesling (Riesling Italico), Okanagan Riesling and Cape Riesling, which itself is also known as Crouchen, Paarl Riesling and Clare Riesling.

A rare, pink-skinned variant of Riesling – Roter Riesling – is grown in Germany and Austria. There is ongoing debate as to whether Roter Riesling is a mutated form of traditional Riesling, or vice-versa.

Synonyms include: Weisser Riesling, Johannisberg Riesling, Johannisberger, Rhine Riesling, Riesling Renano.

Food matches for Riesling include:

• Quiche Lorraine; zwiebelkuchen onion cakes (dry)
• Thai green curry (off-dry)
• Key lime pie (sweet)

Region

Schlossberg Wine

Schlossberg is an Alsace Grand Cru vineyard located on the slopes above Kaysersberg and Kientzheim in Alsace, north-eastern France. At 197 acres (80ha), it is the largest of the region’s 51 Grand Cru sites and the oldest; it was the first Alsace vineyard to be granted Grand Cru status when classification began in 1975.

Schlossberg is amongst the best known of all Alsace vineyard names. It acquired its title from the castle (schloss in German) at its western edge, which it has stood guard over Kayserberg and the Weisbach Valley for 800 years. The vineyards are much older than the castle though; Roman colonists tended vines here more than 1500 years ago.

Schlossberg

Schlossberg Grand Cru, overlooking Kaysersberg
This site is one of a quartet of Grand Crus located on the northern slopes of the Weisbach Valley (Furstentum, Mambourg and Marckrain are the other three). They are significant because of the degree to which their south-facing slopes extend out onto the plains north of Colmar. The majority of Alsace’s Grand Cru sites closely hug the lower slopes of the Vosges, away from the over-fertile soils of the plains. As a result, they are generally restricted either to the occasional south-east-facing slopes, or to the south-facing slopes on finger-like promontories. The unbroken south-facing slope which runs west–east for three miles (4.8km) from Kayserberg to Bennwihr is therefore something of an exception. Schlossberg is located at the western edge.

The slopes here rise steeply from 800 to 1400ft (245–425m), making them some of the steepest and highest in the region – surpassed only by the dramatic Rangen hillside. They have a south and south-easterly aspect, with the vines exposed to the ripening rays of the sun throughout the morning and into the afternoon. Schlossberg is divided between two non-contiguous sections, separated by a folded rift in the hillside but sharing the same soil type and aspect. The smaller, northern section is one-tenth the size of the main slope directly above the town of Kayserberg.

The Schlossberg hillside is composed largely of granite, with the upper layers in an advanced state of decomposition. As a result, the topsoils contain a high proportion of coarse granitic sand, rich in potassium, magnesium and phosphorus – minerals that are found in few other vineyards. The distinctive style of Schlossberg Riesling wine is attributed largely to this unusual soil composition.

The climate of the area is of continental type with particularly low rainfall – a result of the rain shadow cast by the Vosges. The mountains also provide protection from the prevailing westerly winds, making the Alsatian summer one of the driest and warmest in the northern half of France. At the other end of the temperature scale, the winters here are cold; it is not uncommon to see Alsace vineyards lined with snow.

Apart from a few notable exceptions, all Alsace Grand Cru wines are varietals and may be made from Riesling, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Gris or Muscat. Schlossberg has each of these varieties planted and is particularly well known for its Riesling.

Schlossberg is entirely separate from the smaller Wineck-Schlossberg, two miles (3km) to the south.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1499707011753{padding-top: 30px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Producer Notes

About Domaine Weinbach

Domaine Weinbach is a leading wine estate in the Alsace region. It is named after the “wine brook”, a small stream that runs through the main property, which is a former monastery near Kayserberg. The estate is known for its wines made at varying levels of sweetness from Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner, Gewürztraminer and Muscat.

Domaine Weinbach

Unusually for the region, Weinbach only uses estate-grown grapes. It has holdings in four nearby Grand Cru vineyards on the slopes of the Weisbach Valley – Schlossberg, Furstentum, Mambourg and Marckgrain. Weinbach also owns the famous 5-hectare (12-acre) monopole, Le Clos des Capucins, which surrounds the cellars just below Schlossberg, and the Altenbourg vineyard adjacent to Furstentum.

All of the estate’s 28ha (69 acres) of vineyards have been farmed biodynamically since 2005 and are certified by Ecocert and Demeter. After a gentle, gradual pressing, the juice is slowly fermented in old oak vats using indigenous yeasts.

For several decades the estate was run by Colette Faller and her daughters, winemaker Laurence and sales director Catherine. Laurence died tragically young from a heart attack in 2014, and her mother passed away the following year. Catherine Faller now runs the estate with her sons.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

The post Domaine Weinbach Riesling Schlossberg Grand Cru 2019 appeared first on WineYou.

Sourced form old vines in the Clos des Capucins and a plot in the Schlossberg, the 2015 Riesling Cuvee Theo displays a clear, ripe and characterful bouquet with spicy as well as pebbly/earthy and also floral flavors. This is a full-bodied, ripe and intense, yet not fully dry Riesling that displays warm fruit flavors on the round and charming palate. The wine is well structured by a good acidity and fine tannins, and should develop very well over the next 10 to 15 years. The residual sugar is just 5.22 grams per liter, but combined with the 13.68% of alcohol the sensation is slightly sweet. (Mar 2017)

Vinous 91 points

Pale straw-green. A hint of leesy complexity adds dimension to the stone fruit and mineral aromas and flavors. Juicy, precise and fresh, this finishes bright and long, with a twist of lime. From the roughly 40-year-old vines in the Clos. I find this to be much better than the somewhat disappointing, diffuse 2014 Riesling Cuvee Theo. (Mar 2017)

Wine Enthusiast 90 points

Aromatically ripe notes of peach and mandarin soar. The palate of this wine is equally generously fruited, with a vein of ripe lemon acidity at its fresh core. Juicy and very refreshing, it finishes dry and totally moreish with pink grapefruit. (Nov 2016)

Grape Variety

Riesling Wine

Riesling is a light-skinned, aromatic grape of German origin which is – if the majority of top wine critics are to be believed – the world’s finest white wine grape variety.

For many, the claim above may seem at odds with the sea of chaptalized, low-quality wine exported from Germany in the late 20th Century. In truth, very little of that infamous wine was Riesling at all, but instead higher-yielding grapes such as Müller-Thurgau and Silvaner), but the reputation has nonetheless stuck. Riesling has also been stereotyped as just a sweet grape, used only to make sticky wines. But while botrytized Rieslings are among the finest sweet wines in the world, the majority of global Riesling wines are either dry or off-dry.

Riesling vines above the Mosel

The Riesling vine holds a very different place in the wine world to such great grapes as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot or Chardonnay. While these immensely popular varieties have conquered every corner of the winegrowing world, Riesling is conspicuously absent from the core wine regions of France, Spain and Italy. Its fanbase is smaller, but fervent.

Riesling’s spiritual home is unquestionably the regions that trace the middle Rhine and the lower Mosel, two of Europe’s great wine rivers. Here we find the key wine regions of Germany, most famously Mosel, Rheinhessen, Rheingau and Pfalz. Riesling vines cover the steep, slate-rich hillsides above these famous rivers, and are used to make crisp, refreshing wines with pronounced acidity.

On the other side of the Rhine lies Alsace, once German but now part of France. Here, Riesling is the most important wine grape variety in terms of both quantity and (arguably) quality. Alsace Riesling has its own individual style, richer and more generous than those made in Germany. This is made possible by the region’s sunny, dry mesoclimate and the shelter provided by the Vosges Mountains.

Austria also produces a large quantity of Riesling, most notably from its eastern Wachau and Kremstal regions. This is made mostly in drier styles, although Lake Neusiedl, just southeast of Vienna, creates a sufficiently humid climate for the production of sweet botrytized Riesling.

Happily, Riesling has found several New World niches to which it is very well suited. The high quality Rieslings now made in Australia’s Clare and Eden valleys have proved this with particular competence. Most notably, Clare Valley Riesling has emerged as a style in its own right, with crisp, citrus-scented acidity and aromas of toast and honeysuckle. Just across the Tasman Sea, New Zealand is also making high-quality Riesling in Canterbury and Otago, while South Africa’s Riesling is also showing promise. The famous ice wines of Canada are made mostly from Riesling or Vidal, and have further demonstrated the cold-resistant characteristics of this hard-wooded variety.

There are various clones and sub-varieties of Riesling in existence, and the variety has multiple variations on its name (e.g. Johannisberg Riesling, Rhine Riesling). To complicate matters, there are several white grape varieties that bear the name Riesling, but are entirely unrelated. The most notable of these are Welschriesling (Riesling Italico), Okanagan Riesling and Cape Riesling, which itself is also known as Crouchen, Paarl Riesling and Clare Riesling.

A rare, pink-skinned variant of Riesling – Roter Riesling – is grown in Germany and Austria. There is ongoing debate as to whether Roter Riesling is a mutated form of traditional Riesling, or vice-versa.

Synonyms include: Weisser Riesling, Johannisberg Riesling, Johannisberger, Rhine Riesling, Riesling Renano.

Food matches for Riesling include:

• Quiche Lorraine; zwiebelkuchen onion cakes (dry)
• Thai green curry (off-dry)
• Key lime pie (sweet)

Region

Clos des Capucins Wine

Clos des Capucins is one of the most respected vineyards in Alsace, with a long and distinguished history. The vineyard is a monopole of Domaine Weinbach, established in 1612 by the Capucin monks who built the clos. The Weinbach title was chosen by the monks for its symbolism. It means ‘The Stream of Wine’, a reference to the brook flowing through the estate en route from the lower Vosges to the Rhine.

Domaine Weinbach – and therefore the Clos des Capucins – is now owned by the Faller family. They acquired it in 1898 after it was seized as national property during the French Revolution. The clos has remained the domaine’s headquarters and flagship vineyard.

Clos des Capucins

Kaysersberg, home to the Clos des Capucins
Not all of Domaine Weinbach’s wines come from the Clos des Capucins (it covers only 12 acres/5ha). The domaine also has vineyards within the Furstentum and Mambourg Grand Crus, just to the east, and in the Schlossberg Grand Cru on the hillside immediately above the clos. The Cuvee Theo wines, named after Theo Faller, are Riesling and Gewurztraminer wines produced exclusively from Clos des Capucins grapes.

The first references to the Capucin monastery here date back to the ninth century, although it is uncertain whether wine grapes were being grown in the clos as long ago as that. Whenever the first cuvees were made, the Clos des Capucins has secured a place in Alsace’s wine history.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1499707011753{padding-top: 30px !important;}”][vc_column][vc_column_text]

Producer Notes

About Domaine Weinbach

Domaine Weinbach is a leading wine estate in the Alsace region. It is named after the “wine brook”, a small stream that runs through the main property, which is a former monastery near Kayserberg. The estate is known for its wines made at varying levels of sweetness from Riesling, Pinot Gris, Pinot Blanc, Sylvaner, Gewürztraminer and Muscat.

Domaine Weinbach

Unusually for the region, Weinbach only uses estate-grown grapes. It has holdings in four nearby Grand Cru vineyards on the slopes of the Weisbach Valley – Schlossberg, Furstentum, Mambourg and Marckgrain. Weinbach also owns the famous 5-hectare (12-acre) monopole, Le Clos des Capucins, which surrounds the cellars just below Schlossberg, and the Altenbourg vineyard adjacent to Furstentum.

All of the estate’s 28ha (69 acres) of vineyards have been farmed biodynamically since 2005 and are certified by Ecocert and Demeter. After a gentle, gradual pressing, the juice is slowly fermented in old oak vats using indigenous yeasts.

For several decades the estate was run by Colette Faller and her daughters, winemaker Laurence and sales director Catherine. Laurence died tragically young from a heart attack in 2014, and her mother passed away the following year. Catherine Faller now runs the estate with her sons.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]

The post Domaine Weinbach Riesling Cuvee Theo 2015 appeared first on WineYou.