Sancerre Sheds Its Clichés: Stéphane Riffault’s Wines Speak in Texture, Tension and the Dialect of Place. * Six-Bottle Set, $249 (Five Whites, One Rosé)

A communion with the soil is the most important relationship a winemaker will ever forge, and nowhere is this demonstrated more reliably than in Sancerre, where three distinct soil types produce a split-personality of wine characteristics. This may be something of well-kept secret, as the name ‘Sancerre’—even to experienced wine drinkers—often exists as a single, all-encompassing concept limited to crisp, bone-dry, citrus-scented Sauvignon Blancs.

Sancerre, as it happens, is a wealth of subtleties from commune to commune, vineyard to vineyard, lieu-dit to lieu-dit, just as it is in Burgundy.

Elie’s 2024’s Producer of the Year is Stéphane Riffault, owner of Domaine Claude Riffault, one of Sancerre’s most innovative young winemakers. He works 33 different parcels and eight different lieux-dits spread across four Sancerrois villages. Riffault’s bottled overview of Sancerre’s triumvirate of soils, as well as his mastery of balancing minerality and wood is a feat rarely duplicated anywhere else in the appellation.

This week’s package showcases the result of Riffault’s 2023 harvest. Throughout the ’23 growing season, the combination of heat and late-summer rain in late and sun in early autumn allowed grapes to reach full maturity. The wines are extremely rich and fruit-forward, with tropical flavors appearing with the usual notes of citrus and green apple.

In addition, our ‘Recent Arrival’ is another remarkable expression of Sauvignon Blanc, Pouilly-Fumé, this one from opposite side of the Loire—Sancerre is on the left bank of the river and Pouilly-Fumé is on the right. The wines from Domaine du Bouchot tap into our search for essential ‘sunshine’ wines; refreshing thirst-quenchers filled with crisp and bright flavors that call for sips on a summer patio.

Sancerre: The Distinctive Character of Its Sauvignon Blanc Emerges from the Soil.

Rumors that Sancerre is synonymous with Sauvignon Blanc have been greatly exaggerated. That said, no credible wine scholar will deny that the stars aligning between Sancerre’s terroir and the blonde scioness of the Val de Loire is a remarkable gift to us all. Just as the Loire River runs through the heart of France, Sancerre pierces the heart of summertime and Sauvignon Blanc grown among the brush, gravel and layers of Cretaceous soils provides an unadorned synthesis of the scents we associate with the easy season: Cut grass, Meyer lemon, tart hedgerow berries and petrichor—the incomparable aroma of raindrops on stone.

80% of the grapes grown in Sancerre are Sauvignon Blanc, so it is no wonder that this varietal dominates the market, especially in the United States. But nearly 20% is Pinot Noir, and it’s a fact that prior to phylloxera, Sancerre was best known for its red wines. Not only that, but in that not-so-distant past, the whites were rarely made from Sauvignon Blanc, but from Chasselas, which is still grown in small pockets.

When the diabolical little phylloxera louse decimated the vineyard of Sancerre (along with much of Europe) they were replanted with Sauvignon Blanc, which was more responsive to the requisite remedy—American root stock.

One thing did not change: The almost clichéd emphasis Sancerre places on purity. This is a result of two factors: First, the region is relatively far north, so a hallmark of nearly all Sancerre—red, white or pink—is its bright acidity—preserved in the grapes by cool nights and temperate days. The pH of a wine determines its mouthfeel, and the higher the acidity, the more sizzling is the sensation of freshness and clarity on the palate, often described as ‘purity.’

Of equal importance, very little oak is used in the maturation process of wines from Sancerre, and the flavors associated with oak—butter, clove, vanilla and caramel—however desirable in Burgundy—tend to mask some of the fruit-driven notes. It’s one of the reasons that oak-free Chablis is considered the purest incarnation of Chardonnay, and likewise, the neutral barrel or stainless steel/cement aging of Sancerre’s Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir and occasionally Gamay offers the best results for preserving the natural flavors inherent in the juice.

Soil Matters: A Sancerrois Trilogy

Every cliché-driven wine writer on the planet will tell you that in order to make superb wine you must begin with superb grapes, and every conscientious winemaker on earth will tell you that to grow those grapes you need superb soil. And few appellations the size of Sancerre (roughly 7000 acres) are more narrowly defined by three unique variations on that theme, and this is a point of pride for Sancerre’s winegrowers.

First, are the silex soils, which extend southward from Saint-Satur to Thauvenay. Silex soils contain flint (‘silex’ is what the British call this sedimentary form of quartz); such soils form over millennia as limestone erodes to dust and much harder stones are left in its wake. Flint leaves an interesting imprint on Sauvignon Blanc; the wines are elegant and finely-etched with distinctive citrus and herbal notes, but most prominent is the spark/smoke character that the French call ‘pierre à fusil’—literally, gunflint. The smoky minerality that is so prized in tasting notes is far more evident in silex soils than those chalkier wines grown in limestone—silex wines attain a nearly indefinable quality of precision, like the edge of an arrowhead.

Next is the Kimmeridgian marl found on Sancerre’s westernmost hills (as well as in Chablis Grand Crus and many great Champagne terroirs). It is a mixture of limestone and clay that formed eons ago as the final resting place of the famous comma-shaped oyster, Exogyra virgula. Their fossilized shells (quite visible in many stones from the region) left the soils rich in calcium carbonate. Amazingly, wines from this prehistoric graveyard produce wines in which the now-evaporated sea—in the form of a briny undertow, or saltiness—can clearly be tasted. Kimmeridgian marl is known locally as ‘terres blanches’ because the chalky clay turns white in dry periods.

Sancerre’s Oxfordian limestone soils are perhaps less heralded but they are arguably more important because they produce the bulk of the ‘entry-level’ early-drinking Sancerres that—in the public perception—may better typify the region. That is not to say that, in the right hands, they cannot produce wines of great subtlety, as proven by Stéphane Riffault, whose Sury-en-Vaux estate sits (in part) on a ribbon of Oxfordian. These are stone-filled soils, but unlike silex soils, there’s little flint and unlike Kimmeridgian, there is little clay. Instead, the rocky subsurface is filled with two distinct types of stone, caillottes, which are sizable pebbles and Griottes, which are much smaller. Oxfordian limestone tends to run north-south from Sainte-Gemme down through Bué and below.

Domaine Claude Riffault
Le Métronome*

*From ‘Our 25 Domaines of the Year,’ Guides des Vins 2020, Bettane+Desseauve:

“When you think of Sancerre, you absolutely have to mention Stéphane Riffault. Measure, attention and reflection forge high-flying and stylish cuvées; each reflecting the personality of its terroir. Everything here exudes excellence.”

When Stéphane Riffault took over Domaine Claude Riffault from his father Claude, he brought with him a tool kit earned in a number of contrasting appellations, having studied and trained with Olivier Leflaive in Burgundy and at Château Angélus in Bordeaux. This broader view informed the core, hands-on education he received from his father at the domain. Among the rather ‘un-Sancerre-like’ methods he brought to the estate was hand-harvesting and extensive sorting before the crush; Stéphane’s wife Benedicte leads the harvest team while Stéphane manages the sorting and press during harvest.

Meanwhile, among the conclusions at which he arrived on his own is that sustainability is key to the future. As such, all 33 of his vineyard acres are organic (Ecocert, 2016) and biodynamic (Biodyvin, 2021).

Stéphane Riffault, Domaine Claude Riffault

All good winemakers seem to be equal parts dirt-farmer and metaphysical philosopher, and Stéphane is no exception: “Being a winegrower and winemaker demands commitment, risk and continual self-questioning,” he maintains. “You have to know how to adapt in order to stay dynamic. Improvement requires perpetual movement, and what drives me is the creation of wines of texture; wines that are singular and true to themselves.”

Although most of the Riffault’s holdings are planted on the soft limestone soil called ‘terres blanches’, he farms a handful of parcels on caillottes and silex; thus, he has developed a keen understanding of the qualities that each unique terroir brings to an individual wine. He employs oak moderately to add length to his already-precise, site-expressive and highly delineated bottlings.

All his parcels are vinified separately, and (except for the rosé), all are bottled unfiltered.

Sancerre’s Lieux-dits: Parsing the Parcels

As someone trained in Burgundy (and whose brother Benoît is the winemaker at Domaine Etienne Sauzet in Puligny-Montrachet), you might expect Stéphane Riffault to have a particular affinity for lieux-dits—those unique parcels of vineyards so singular in expression that they have their own names. This is absolutely the case, and there is more: The Crus of Burgundy may be well-mapped and understood, but far less so are the vineyards and lieux-dits of Sancerre. Riffault considers them among France’s finest terroirs, able to produce great white wines not of stature and complexity, but of individual identity. As such, he is making it his mission to champion eight parcels among the 33 plots he currently works as part of an exacting showcase stratospheric Sancerres seen from a near-microscopic perspective.

 1  Domaine Claude Riffault ‘Les Denisottes’, 2023 Sancerre White ($48)
Les Denisottes is a three-acre plot located near Riffault’s Sury-en-Vaux estate and is composed of three individual southeast-facing plots at nearly a thousand feet in altitude. The vines (between 40 and 50 years old) are rooted in deep Kimmeridgian limestone. The juice fermented spontaneously and was aged on lees for 14 months in multi-layer wooden barrels with sporadic bâtonnage and no malolactic fermentation, producing a wine loaded with citrus zest, green apple tartness and a distinct flinty minerality.

 2  Domaine Claude Riffault ‘Chailloux’, 2023 Sancerre White ($48)
Les Chailloux is a unique site in the village of Sury-en-Vaux. While silex soils are common in the neighboring Pouilly-Fumé and the eastern edge of Sancerre, it is fairly scarce in the northwestern part of Sancerre. Stéphane Riffault farms about three acres of vines in this lieu-dit, which produces concentrated and opulent wine, yet racy and intensely saline and capable of aging gracefully for many years.

 3  Domaine Claude Riffault ‘Les Chasseignes’, 2023 Sancerre White ($48)
Les Chasseignes is an east/southeast facing lieu-dit that sits at nearly 900 feet in altitude. Planted on gravelly limestone soils, the wine opens with a greenish, refreshing bouquet and gains considerably in complexity upon aeration, becoming round and elegant and finishing with savory notes.

 4  Domaine Claude Riffault ‘Les Boucauds’, 2023 Sancerre White ($38)
Sourced from several plots situated in the lieu-dit of Les Boucauds, this cuvée employs close to 50% of the Sauvignon Blanc planted on the estate. Drawn entirely from terres blanches soils – marls and clays over Kimmeridgian limestone – this wine represents a pure expression of this site as well as the deft winemaking of Stéphane Riffault.

The 2023 Boucauds is a blend of both Burgundy barrels (several from Etienne Sauzet in Puligny-Montrachet) and larger oak formats. Because of the deep clay and limestone soils, Les Boucauds always has great mouthfeel and depth, as opposed to Stéphane’s silex and caillottes parcels which are more linear and austere in their youth. Sourced from several Les Boucauds plots, this cuvée employs close to half of all the Sauvignon Blanc planted on the estate.

 5  Domaine Claude Riffault ‘Mosaïque Calcaire’, 2023 Sancerre White ($35)
In 2018 Stéphane Riffault made the decision to release a village-level Sancerre after additional plantings on limestone terroirs that he has undertaken over the last decade. It also includes some fruit from Les Boucauds and Les Chasseignes along with eighteen other parcels. Like all good Sancerre, this wine is supple and nearly succulent, filled with tropical notes besides the melon and pear foundation. It is rich, but remains light on its feet behind gentle acidity.

 6  Domaine Claude Riffault, 2023 Sancerre Rosé ($35)
La Noue is a six-acre of Pinot Noir grown on clay limestone and marl. Divided into seven plots and ranging in age from 10 to 60 years old it is the source for both Riffault’s Noue Rouge and his rosé. In particular, the rosé is a combination of juice bled off the Sancerre Rouge after a 6-12 hour maceration combined with direct press Pinot Noir. Cherry and citrus dominate the nose, while ripe strawberry notes appear on the palate.

Notebook …

Kimmeridgian Kinship: Sancerre and Chablis’ Common Ground

Brothers from another mother or sisters from another mister; either way, the land beneath Sancerre and Chablis springs from the same prehistory. Classified in the middle of the 18th century by French geologist Alcide d’Obigny while he was working near the English town of Kimmeridge, he identified a unique layer of dark marl and called it ‘Kimmeridgian.’

Still, as in siblings, there are distinct differences in the DNA of English Kimmeridgian and French Kimmeridgian. The French layer is a relatively uniform chalky marl with thin limestone containing rich layers of seashells. This is because strata formed from the post Jurassic period continued to be deposited in the shallow sea areas which once covered part of France. The way these layers interact is key to the reason that French Kimmeridgian soils produce some of the world’s most heralded wine. The marly soil provides good structure, ideal water-retention and is easy to cultivate while hard limestone Portlandian contains numerous fossil fragments and, having been repeatedly shattered by frost, offers good aeration and ideal drainage along gentle slopes.

Chablis is a significant part of the Kimmeridgian chain; mid-slope vineyards in Chablis match almost perfectly to the Kimmeridgian outcrop, with the soft, carbonate-rich rock being covered by Portlandian limestone and supported by other limestone deposits. Sancerre, meanwhile, sits on top a fault ridge; the eastern side has a layer of Cretaceous soils while the west side is covered with brush and gravel slopes. Further west the best vineyards sit on the classic Portlandian-Kimmeridgian soil combination, producing a classic example of ‘terroir’.

THE RECENT ARRIVAL

Pouilly-Fumé: The Other Face of Sauvignon Blanc

When the red-headed step-child is a sun-kissed blonde, it may get more notice. Scarcely ten miles distant from AOP Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé has always had its own starstruck fans who prefer the appellation’s meaty smokeshow to the more austere Sauvignon Blancs of Sancerre. Same grape, similar cool, continental climate and limestone-clay hills slashed with bands of clay-flint silex—although Pouilly-Fumé flavor profiles tend to emphasize the flintiness.

Wherein lies the difference? They may seem subtle, but are magnified when exploited by a winemaker’s know-how. First, elevation: Sancerre is grown on slopes while Pouilly-Fumé vines are grown on flatlands, so the harvest happens earlier as grapes reaches optimum ripeness sooner. Sancerre generally undergoes shorter lees-aging (usually 3-4 months) while Pouilly-Fumé remains on its fine lees for around 6-8 months, depending on vintage. Lees, the fine sediment of dead yeast cells on the bottom of the barrels, give extra texture and complexity to wine.

But the real reason that Fumé never really reached the cult-status of Sancerre may be mundane and down to sheer happenstance: Priced slightly lower, Sancerre became a bistro favorite and as such, it’s fame was secured. And it is also possible that entry-level consumers confused Pouilly-Fumé with similarly named, but Chardonnay-based, Pouilly-Fuissé from Mâcon.

In any case, now that we’ve tugged Fumé from the smoke and into the spotlight, enjoy the marvelous incarnations of Antoine Gouffier.

Domaine du Bouchot
The Quiet Radical of Pouilly-Fumé

Fives-Bottle Set, $199 (Four Whites, One Orange)

Named ‘The Discovery of the Year’ by La Revue du Vin de France in ‘The Guide of the Best Wines of France 2022,’ we hope that Domaine du Bouchot becomes your discovery of the week.

When his roots in the Nièvre came calling, 30-year-old Antoine Gouffier took heed. In 2018, he took over Domaine du Bouchot’s 26 acre estate from the widely respected Rachel and Pascal Kerbiquet. Located on the southwestern side of the municipality of Saint-Andelain, the estate had developed a reputation for earth-friendly winemaking. Gouffier followed the Kerbiquet’s tradition of sulfur-free vinification with native yeasts. Certified organic by Demeter the following year, Gouffier has begun a conversion to biodynamics.

Domaine du Bouchot is a tiny property in St. Andelain in the southern part of Pouilly Fumé, close to the Loire River, and formerly run by Rachel and Pascal Kerbiquet who describe themselves as ‘organic activists.’

Antoine Gouffier, Domaine du Bouchot

In 1985, the couple planted two plots on old farm land that once specialized in wheat, but where the Kimmeridgian limestone soil was ideal for vines. Facing southwest, the two plots—the ‘Côte des Pres’ and ‘Fouinelles’ vineyards—are now 35 years old. In 1995, they planted two more parcels, ‘Vaurigny’ and ‘Papillons,’ on Portlandian soils.

In 2018, Antoine Gouffier purchased Domaine du Bouchot, and considers Rachel and Pascal Kerbiquet to be his mentors. Of course, Antoine’s knowledge of the area was already profound as his family—the Minets—own the neighboring vineyards. He believes in minimal intervention, using indigenous yeast and (primarily) stainless steel for fermentation. He is also experimenting with amphorae while producing three different Pouilly-Fumés, a Pouilly-sur-Loire made from 100% Chasselas and a VdF called Orange, a 100% Sauvignon vinified on the skin during five months.

Antoine Gouffier has set out on a biodynamic course to showcase orange wine made from Sauvignon Blanc and to revitalize interest in Pouilly-Fumé and Loire’s somewhat less ubiquitous grape variety, Chasselas. This package shows just that.

 1  Domaine du Bouchot ‘Terres Blanches’, 2023 Pouilly-Fumé (34 $)
* 2023 saw variable weather conditions in the Loire encompassing both rain and heatwaves, and producers worked hard to hold back mildew and acid rot; it was a challenging vintage.

The first organic wine from the appellation, the grapes clusters saw full sunlight when possible by leaf removal. The name pays homage to the white Kimmeridgian limestone that lends a beautiful minerality to this wine. Harvested at full ripeness and fermented on indigenous yeasts, the wine has no added sulfites and is bottled with only light filtration. It shows citrus blossom, supple peach and crushed seashells and a long, saline, fresh lemon finish.

 2  Domaine du Bouchot ‘MCMLV’, 2022 Pouilly-Fumé ($44)
MCMLV refers to 1955, the year this acre of Sauvignon vines were planted. The southeast facing vineyard is situated on a slope of well-drained marl which yield concentration. The grapes are harvested by hand and vinified after two days of skin-contact followed by 18 months of maturation, half in wooden cask and half in stainless steel tank. Bottled at the estate during a waning moon. The wine shows floral and fresh green herb notes behind the ripe gooseberry and citrus nose leading to a complex, dense and long finish.

 3  Domaine du Bouchot ‘Caillottes’, 2022 Pouilly-Fumé ($38)
‘Caillottes’ refers to shallow, rock-filled soils capable of creating pronounced aromatics; wines from vineyards with caillottes are often the first wines ready to drink, and may have less potential for bottle aging. This one shows a fresh nose of grapefruit sorbet and green grass with hints of blossoms and minerals. A silken, almost creamy mouth-feel counters the vibrant acidity.

 4  Domaine du Bouchot ‘Mon Village’, 2022 Pouilly-sur-Loire ($38) White
As a Pouilly-sur-Loire, this wine is not Sauvignon Blanc, but 100% Chasselas. The harvest is done by hand, the yeasts are indigenous and the wine is made with as little pumping as possible. Aged on its fine lees in temperature-controlled stainless-steel tanks, the wine is bottled in the spring after a very light filtration. It is light, tidy and focused showing quince, apples, apple peel and carambola, while hints of lime blossom, chamomile and dried herbs buzz in the background.

 5  Domaine du Bouchot ‘Orange’, 2022 VdF Loire-Centre ($45) Orange
* Heralded by many producers as one of the best vintages of the decade, 2022 was a warm and sunny year throughout the Loire that resulted in perfectly healthy fruit with excellent balance.

‘Orange’ wine, of course, refers to its color, not its place of origin. It’s an ancient technique as well as a current fad—white wine produced from white grapes (in this case Sauvignon Blanc) that have been allowed prolonged skin and stem contact, thereby extracting the characteristic amber tint and a unique flavor profile, which often involves slight oxidation. Bouchot’s example shows nutty, smoky currant, lime zest and briary nettle—its aromatic pungency coincides with a silken-textured, very pure palate.

Notebook …

Tasting the Difference: Spring in Sancerre, Summer in Pouilly-Fumé

What a difference a river bank makes—or does it? Although situated on opposite sides of the same river (Sancerre on the left bank of the Loire and Pouilly-Fumé on the right), enough distinctions exist in their styles to have earned each its own AOP— white Sancerre in 1936 and Pouilly-Fumé in 1937. But it is not always easy to tell them apart in blind tastings—both are dry white wines made from Sauvignon Blanc from appellations only ten miles apart, and both express linear purity and ability to age with grace. Although the soils are slightly different, with more flint in Fumé and more limestone in Sancerre, the characteristic gun smoke that gives Fumé its name also appears with some regularity in Sancerre. The primary differences may be the intent of the winemaker.

Sancerre generally is leaner of body preserves the vibrant acidity of the grape alongside, with refreshing and crisp lime flavors alongside notes of green grass. In short, it has a profile one might associate with spring.

The flinty character of silex soil allows for an accumulation of heat, leading to early ripening. Pouilly-Fumé tends to be a rounder wine, richer in body and displaying flavors that toward more stone fruits and ripe apples, along with the classic smoky notes. It is a wine more easily identified with the summer.

Loire-Centre Vintage Overview

Weathering 2023: A Winegrower’s Balancing Act

The winter of 2022/2023 was relatively mild in Sancerre and rolled into an equally benign spring, and although a few vines were touched by frost, it was nothing cataclysmic. Budburst was largely successful, and the gently rising temperatures proved idyllic for flowering, with yields promising to be high. June then brought a bout of hot, humid weather aggravated by frequent rain and disease pressure ran high; producers had to frequently spray and those who weren’t vigilant lost yields. That said, the heat pushed the grapes to phenolic ripeness signaling an early harvest.

Although a heatwave struck mid-summer, nights were cool, proving ideal for preserving the acidity and aromatics crucial to Sancerre, and despite a few large storms, the harvest was mostly picked fuss-free.

The 2022 Harvest: A Year of Rain, Resilience, and Ripeness.

Directly from the journal of Jean-Paul Labaille, owner and winemaker at Thomas-Labaille in Chavignol:

“Following the terrible frost that impacted our crop in 2021, it almost feels like 2022 was blessed from above. While it’s true that drought and hail impacted many vineyards this year and that the heavy rainfalls in June made it very challenging to work the soils, in the end the vines were balanced and we did not suffer the same amount of hydric stress felt by so many other regions. We even had some light rain in August and at the very beginning of harvest, giving us grapes of great quantity and quality. We began on September 5th, interrupted once on the 7th by a hail storm that touched the Northwest of the appellation. In Chavignol there were zero impacts. Qualitatively, we are in for a good vintage. The fermentations have been going well, with pH levels between 3.2 and 3.3, permitting us to keep a good amount of freshness. The alcohol will end up between 12.5 and 13.5, maybe as high at 13.7 on the Monts-Damnés. 2022 really reminds me of 2018, which is very promising!”

The Twin Years of 2019 & 2018: A Double Benediction

The back-to-back vintages 2018 and 2019 represent something of a climactic miracle. Even as a stand-alone, 2018 is considered to be one of the most exceptional vintages seen in the region for half a century. Taken together with a spectacular 2019, they are twin towers of triumph.

2018 began with fantastic spring that allowed for successful flowering and fruit set without any of the usual problems that normally occur with rain, hail or frost, and a hot summer developed the ripe semi-tropical flavors associated with the best Sauvignon Blanc. 2019 was a bit cooler, but produced grapes where the coveted acids that reign in aggressive fruit notes.

Tapping the source directly, Vacheron comments, “2018 and 2019 are very similar in the way they are constructed, even if the alcohol is slightly higher in 2018. The two vintages tend to show that it is possible to make wines that have good freshness despite low acidities because the minerality superseded the acidity. 2018 is without a doubt a vintage that will mark people’s memories, and will remain a reference in Sancerre. It’s the kind of vintage that helps grow a heightened generation of wine makers within their appellations.”

- - -
Posted on 2025.06.26 in Petit Chablis, Pouilly-Fumé, Sancerre, Chablis, France, Wine-Aid Packages, Loire