The soils of Sancerre are famous for their flint. This unusual rock gives the region’s wines a note of smokiness and minerality — a perfect foil for Sauvignon Blanc’s lush grapefruit notes. Our Sancerre producer, the Domaine de la Garenne, makes several delicious wines – but their flint-heavy cuvée is our favorite.
If you like your Sauvignon Blancs zippy, dry, and mineral, it doesn’t get more exciting than this. Garenne’s “Silex” cuvée (originally called “Infidèle”) is grown in the flint-rich soils that make Sancerre famous. This special terroir produces wines with a distinct smoky element, a perfect foil for the brisk freshness and ripe fruit of Sauvignon Blanc.
In the nose the 2022 Sancerre “Silex” is delicate and lovely — a combination of dry grapefruit, straw, oyster shells, and a hint of gunflint smokiness. In the mouth it’s extraordinary, packed with layers of flinty minerals, notes of chalk, grapefruit and lime rind, and smooth, tension-filled texture. Garenne only makes 200 cases a year — but it’s back in stock and ready for action.
____________________________
Garenne Sancerre “Silex” 2022
bottle price: $42
