The soils of Sancerre are famous for their flint. This unusual mineral gives the region’s wines notes of smokiness and stones. The minerality acts as a perfect foil for Sauvignon Blanc’s lush grapefruit notes, and Sancerre has always been among the world’s most popular wines.
Our new Sancerre producer, the Domaine de la Garenne, makes three excellent cuvées: a fruit-forward Sancerre from a blend of soil types, an intense and refreshing Sancerre “Bouffants” from limestone-heavy soils, and today’s vibrant new Sancerre “Infidèle” from soils full of classic flint.
If you like your Sauvignon Blancs zippy, dry, and mineral, it doesn’t get more exciting than this.
On Saturday at our Holiday warehouse tasting in Newton we opened the Infidèle to universal acclaim. Comments included: “I really don’t like Sauvignon Blanc, but this is delicious;” “It’s like biting into a stone…in a good way;” and “Most exciting white I’ve had from Ansonia all year.”
In the nose Infidèle is delicate and lovely — a combination of dry grapefruit, straw, and a hint of gunflint smokiness. But in the mouth it’s outstanding, packed full of flinty minerals, notes of chalk, grapefruit and lime rind, and smooth, tension-filled texture.
Garenne only makes 200 cases of this every year, and we’ve got far fewer than that. But this isn’t wine you’ll forget about soon.
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Garenne Sancerre “Infidèle” 2016
bottle price: $35
FREE EAST COAST SHIPPING ON ANY 12 BOTTLES