Expert’s Choice: Red Sancerre

As well as its famous whites, the Loire is also a source of delightful Pinot Noirs that are worth tracking down. Christelle Guibert recommends her favourite producers...

Made exclusively from Pinot Noir, Sancerre Rouge accounts for about 10% of the appellation’s production, and boasts a small but dedicated following. Only a tiny percentage is exported and this, combined with recent frosts, means a slimmed-down Expert’s Choice selection (12 wines rather than the usual 18). Sancerre Rouge’s loyal client base also means it is rarely the bargain red one can sometimes find in the Loire – but this is Pinot Noir we’re talking about, and with prices rising as they have in Burgundy, the best can offer great relative value.

At its best, red Sancerre is far more than just a cheaper alternative to Burgundy. The different climatic conditions and soil types give an expression to the Pinot fruit that is uniquely ‘Loire’. The region can roughly be divided into three, with the white-coloured terres blanches western vineyards majoring in chalky clay and limestone. Further east, the area around Chavignol in particular is rich in Kimmeridgian marne, and produces some of the most structured wines. As you travel the few kilometres towards Sancerre, the terroir shifts to generally more delicate gravel and limestone influences, before you arrive at Sancerre itself, where the more flinty soils produce some of the most ageworthy wines.

Scroll down for Guibert’s favourite red Sancerre producers

Sancerre Rouge was first granted appellation contrôlée status in 1959, and back then there was considerably more Pinot Noir planted, as red wine was the region’s original focus. The white planted at that time wasn’t even Sauvignon Blanc, but Chasselas.

All this gradually changed however, as Sauvignon’s charms as an easy-drinking white and its relative ease of cultivation saw red production gradually wane. What remained was often planted on ill-favoured slopes, dilute and unlikely to inspire a revival.

Pinot perfectionists

A few growers, notably Jean Vacheron and Alphonse Mellot, kept the Pinot torch alight, and its fortunes have gradually changed for the better. Over the last 15 years yields have been coming down, and more top producers are giving their reds serious attention. Recently there has been a marked shift towards grappes entières, the more traditional whole-grape method of vinification, from producers such as Gérard & Pierre Morin, and Emile Balland. Claude Riffault is representative of this trend, noting that if destemming is not done gently and with the right equipment, the process can release more bitter and herbaceous flavours than if not destemmed.

This renewed focus has been helped by a string of warmer vintages, benefitting red grapes. But the key is still to buy selectively. Pinot is a notoriously tricky grape and the climate is still marginal, so quality is hugely vintage-dependent. Although the Loire has generally seen warmer vintages recently, 2013 for example should be approached with caution. Similarly, while Sancerre in general fared better than many of its neighbours in the frosts of 2016, production was still down by about 20%, with growers such as Riffault unable to make a red.

At its best, red Sancerre wine can be a real treat. Often with a sappy, fresh core of red fruit and vibrant juiciness, these are wines that can shine at the dinner table – particularly when served slightly chilled on a hot summer’s day. And when a good vintage is placed in the hands of a talented grower, harnessing its mineral inflected chalkiness, it can soar.

See Guibert’s favourite red Sancerre producers