Sancerre
The hill-town of Sancerre, is on the Eastern end of the Loire and dominates the area. It was a prosperous merchant town in a feudal society. (The money was based on wool not wine). It was a protestant stronghold in the wars of religion and was besieged twice by royal armies. It ardently supported the Revolution and Napoleon’s Marshal Macdonald, a Scottish settler, lived here.
This is very much the lesser-visited end of the Loire and maintains all its rural charm as a result. Nearby is the wine village of Pouilly, famed also for its wines and the village of Chavignol, which has excellent wines as well as famous goats cheeses.
The whites are made from Sauvignon Blanc and are dry, flinty and acidic, with varying degrees of gooseberry, lime and nettle tones. The best can drink superbly for some years after the vintage and take on a mellow, less raucous flavour. Sancerres are often produced from single vineyards and single soil types. (An approach favoured by the appellation authorities).
Although Sancerre is best know for its whites, there is also an excellent, lean red from Pinot Noir, which has improved dramatically over recent years. Twenty years ago there was probably only one good producer, these days, the average standard is pretty good and some bottlings, especially ‘Vieilles Vignes’ cuvées, can be very serious. There is also some Sancerre Rose. As for Pouilly-Fumé, the other great Sauvignon from the Eastern Loire this tends to fuller and softer than Sancerre and is traditionally described as having a whiff of ‘flint-lock’ pistol on the nose. If you look for the smoky tone you may find it, but you will also find the gooseberry and nettle scents too. The soils are basically the same as Sancerre, but the landscape is of gentler hills, without the great escarpments. Some special wines are made from Silex soils or Vieilles Vignes and some of these are fermented in barrel rather than the modern temperature controlled vats, which are generally used for Sauvignon in this corner of France. Nearby to the West of Sancerre you will find the mid-weight Sauvignon wines from Menetou-Salon, Quincy and Reuilly. Here soils are mostly sandy; the wines are gentler with mineral rather than cutting acidity.
For gastronomic specialities you must, of course, try the local goats cheeses from Chavignol, which rather unflatteringly are called “crottin de Chavignol” (literally goat’s droppings!). River fish, simple grills, mushrooms, charcuterie, rillettes and creamy sauces also feature on the traditional menus.
