You have probably heard the name Lucien Crochet. You may even have a bottle or two of their crisp, limestone-driven Sauvignon Blanc in your fridge. It is one of Sancerre's benchmark estates, synonymous with purity and precision. But if you visit the winery in the village of Bué, you will notice that many of the locals aren't drinking white wine. They are drinking the red.

While the world clamors for Crochet’s whites, the family has always maintained a serious dedication to Pinot Noir. This makes sense when you realize that they are based in Bué, a village that is historically famous for having some of the best Pinot Noir terroir in the appellation. The "Croix du Roy" is their flagship red, a blend of their best plots of south-facing vines.

If you haven't tasted Sancerre Rouge in a while, you might remember the category as being light, or perhaps even a little green. That is not Croix du Roy. It helps — in this case — that the vintages are getting warmer. 2020 was a solar, warm year in the Loire, allowing the Pinot Noir to achieve Burgundy-level ripeness that was rare twenty years ago. In Crochet’s hands, that sunshine was translated into a wine with genuine flesh and depth, drinking more like a Volnay than a village Sancerre Rouge from decades past.

And we mean a Volnay with a bit of bottle age! At five years old, the primary fruit is just starting to give way to those savory, complex and mature flavors — forest floor, dried rose, and spice — that we love in our Pinot Noir. It’s a great reminder that Burgundy doesn’t have a monopoly on wines like this, and you can spend about half as much if you look to other regions:

Lucien Crochet, Sancerre Rouge "Croix du Roy", 2020 $41.99