Domaine des Chasseignes's Platonic Ideal Sancerre is Our Newest Fave

Most Sancerre domaines are named after the person or family that makes the wine: Vatan, Pascal Cotat (and his cousin Francois Cotat), Bouland, Claude Riffault. But this Sancerre Domaine is named for the winemaking family’s prized vineyard, Les Chasseignes. That’s how important the site is to them.

Les Chasseignes is an old lieu-dit blessed with south-facing slopes on classic caillottes soil — the pebbly limestone mixed with gravel that is one of Sancerre's three famous soil types. It makes wines both fruity and floral, lithe and balanced, with a fine chalky minerality but no austerity. Add Les Chasseignes' warm southern exposure (it's always among the first vineyards harvested in the appellation) and you get lifted and precise, though particularly generous, fruit.

The Dezat family were polycultural farmers when Marcel Dezat planted vines in Les Chasseignes. But this site made them vignerons. Today, Marcel’s granddaughter Aurore runs the Domaine with her husband, David Girard. They farm organically and their work is meticulous. They are very good winemakers. But this is a wine that is all about the site.

It all comes across in the glass. This is Sancerre with the volume turned up slightly — bright and full of fruit (ripe citrus, orchard fruit, some more exotic notes) but wired underneath with tension and mineral drive. There's a whisper of green spice on the finish, a hint of jalapeño, that keeps it savory and food-friendly. It's the kind of bottle that reminds you why Sancerre became famous in the first place: generous but never heavy, refreshing but never thin.

We’ve long been fans of Les Chasseignes. Flatiron favorite Claude Riffault makes an example we offer every time we can get enough. But the Dezat family’s Domaine des Chasseignes is a new find for us. 

Domaine des Chasseignes, Sancerre Les Chasseignes, 2021 $47.99