From: Loire Valley, France
Varietal: Pinot Noir
Tasting Notes: Aromatically, this wine offers bouncy, cheery notes of red cherry, raspberry, rhubarb, and cranberry, with subtle notes of violets. It's fresh and juicy on the palate, featuring bright raspberry flavors, gentle tannins, and a touch of baking spice. This elegant and well-rounded Sancerre Rouge delivers excellent value and shines on its own or as a versatile pairing at the dinner table.
Pairing: Pinot Noir from Sancerre plays well with a myriad of dishes. Some examples include serving this alongside proteins like salmon in iterations such as salmon Rillettes, brown sugar-cured salmon (check out the recipe below), saffron salmon kebabs, and even salmon hand rolls with crispy skin. Other fantastic options include beef negimaki, Japanese beef stew, Peking duck, pomegranate-glazed lamb meatballs, vegetable gratin with eggplant, mushroom risotto or grits, and scallion meatballs with soy-ginger glaze.
Roasted Salmon Glazed With Brown Sugar and Mustard
By Sam Sifton
About the estate. Domaine de la Villaudière, a 15-hectare family estate managed by Jean-Marie Reverdy alongside his wife Catherine and their sons, Guillaume and Baptiste, is perched above the village of Verdigny, offering striking views of the Sancerre vineyards. With a focus on tradition and respect for the land, the Reverdys embody patience and precision in vineyard management and winemaking. Their approach balances authenticity with modern techniques, building on the work of previous generations to produce wines that reflect the terroir’s unique qualities.
The estate produces all three styles of Sancerre—blanc, rosé, and rouge—strongly emphasizing the lesser-known Sancerre Rouge made from Pinot Noir. Their vines, planted 40 years ago, now thrive in a combination of clay-limestone (“Terres Blanches”) and stony limestone (“Caillotes”) soils. For the Pinot Noir, grapes are meticulously hand-sorted and undergo cold maceration before fermentation. Daily punch-downs during fermentation ensure optimal flavor extraction, resulting in a light, fruit-forward red. After fermentation, the wine ages on the lees for a few months (12 months for the 2020 vintage), enhancing its complexity before bottling.
About the area. If you’ve always associated Sancerre with white wine, you’re not alone. The white wines from Sancerre are globally famous, and people of all ages and tastes love Sauvignon Blanc from Sancerre. However, there’s always been a little Pinot Noir planted here. In past years, the reds from Sancerre garnered a cult-like following from a tiny group of wine enthusiasts who loved austere, mineral, less fruit-centric wines. In the last ten years, we’ve seen the reds from the region garner more attention and prestige, and we’ve attached the following article by Roger Voss to aid in explaining some of that evolution.
In Sancerre, a Red Wine Thrives Amid an ‘Ocean of Sauvignon Blanc’ By Roger Voss, last updated September 20, 2024.
