Isabelle Garrault Sancerre Les Grands Monts Blanc 2019
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Wilfred
Wong
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: The Isabelle Garrault Les Grands Monts Blanc Sancerre is appealing and authentic. TASTING NOTES: This wine exhibits aromas and flavors of dried herbs, savory spices, chalk, and citrus peel. Pair it with a freshly-picked garden salad topped with young goat cheese. (Tasted: November 2, 2021, San Francisco, CA)
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The Garrault family has been growing grapes in Sancerre for over 10 generations. Based in the village of Verdigny, their vineyards are located on truly privileged terroir. The parcels are all found on high altitude sites (200m – 400m) and on steep slopes that allow the grapes to soak up the shy Loire Valley Sun. The soils found here are the classic Terres Blanches and Caillotes that bestow laser intense minerality into the wines. The grapes are all hand-harvested and vinified in stainless tanks to preserve the full freshness and zippiness of the wines. Great Sancerre is getting harder to find, and it is families like the Garraults that continue to shun the influx of industry into Sancerre. They simply continue to make wine in the traditional way that reminds us why we fell in love with this hilly region to begin with.
Capable of a vast array of styles, Sauvignon Blanc is a crisp, refreshing variety that equally reflects both terroir and varietal character. Though it can vary depending on where it is grown, a couple of commonalities always exist—namely, zesty acidity and intense aromatics. This variety is of French provenance. Somm Secret—Along with Cabernet Franc, Sauvignon Blanc is a proud parent of Cabernet Sauvignon. That green bell pepper aroma that all three varieties share is no coincidence—it comes from a high concentration of pyrazines (herbaceous aromatic compounds) inherent to each member of the family.
Marked by its charming hilltop village in the easternmost territory of the Loire, Sancerre is famous for its racy, vivacious, citrus-dominant Sauvignon blanc. Its enormous popularity in 1970s French bistros led to its success as the go-to restaurant white around the globe in the 1980s.
While the region claims a continental climate, noted for short, hot summers and long, cold winters, variations in topography—rolling hills and steep slopes from about 600 to 1,300 feet in elevation—with great soil variations, contribute the variations in character in Sancerre Sauvignon blancs.
In the western part of the appellation, clay and limestone soils with Kimmeridgean marne, especially in Chavignol, produce powerful wines. Moving closer to the actual town of Sancerre, soils are gravel and limestone, producing especially delicate wines. Flint (silex) soils close to the village produce particularly perfumed and age-worthy wines.
About ten percent of the wines claiming the Sancerre appellation name are fresh and light red wines made from Pinot noir and to a lesser extent, rosés. While not typically exported in large amounts, they are well-made and attract a loyal French following.