Top Sancerre 2015 wines – panel tasting
See the top five Sancerre wines from the 2015 vintage rated by Decanter's expert judges in our latest panel tasting...
These were the top Sancerre 2015 wines in Decanter’s September 2016 issue panel tasting.
The 2015 vintage showed consistent quality with ripe, approachable wines, our tasters said.
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Top Sancerre 2015 wines:
More comments from this tasting:
Andy Howard MW said he was impressed by the fruit purity and ‘lack of any lean or green notes’ in many of the Sancerre 2015 wines.
But the overt ripeness presented as ‘a tinge of botrytis and almost caramelised fruit flavours’ in some examples, which upset fellow taster Chris Kissack.
The judges felt alcohol levels were well handled.
Andy Howard said the wines at 12.5% abv ‘were a bit on the dilute side’, and those at 14% or more ‘started to become a problem’.
He said it came down to a balance of alcohol along with ripeness, concentration and acidity.
Jim Budd agreed, and said this balance helped the region’s wines age better than most consumers imagined:
‘You can enjoy Sancerre when it’s young and fresh, but if you buy a top Sancerre you will get additional complexity with 10 or 15 years in the cellar that you couldn’t find in other Sauvignon Blancs.’
Edited for Decanter.com by Laura Seal
Anthony Girard, La Clef du Récit, Sancerre, Loire, France, 2015
95
Biscuity aromas and a fresh, peachy, vivacious palate. Depth and polish, not too fruit-driven, relying on that flinty edge and an appealingly stony finish.
2015
Anthony GirardSancerre
Domaine François Crochet, Les Perrois, Sancerre, Loire, France, 2015
95
Delicate citrus and grapefruit aromas. Toasted almond notes on the palate with grilled white peach and orange pith. Crisp, but no trace of greenness. Focused, very rounded and complete.
2015
Domaine François CrochetSancerre
Domaine Serge Laloue, Sancerre, Loire, France, 2015
94
Light citric notes and a smoky, bright nose with a reserved, mineral vein. This has a lean and grippy style. The palate is pure and nicely polished, showing white stone fruit and white peach freshness, with an energetic balance of fruit and acidity. Deliciously fine example.
2015
Domaine Serge LaloueSancerre
Domaine du Nozay, Sancerre, Loire, France, 2015
94
Ripe grapefruit aromas which are also very limestone and flinty in character. Attractive mouthfilling texture with real substance and breadth. Quite a serious style here which shows in the finish, charged with zippy, crunchy structure.
2015
Domaine du NozaySancerre
Dominique Roger, Domaine du Carrou, Sancerre, Loire, France, 2015
94
Citrus and peach aromas with a little box tree and gooseberry and some smoky, flinty seams. A good ripeness of plum and yellow peach fruit. Not overdone, this is a classy and expressive Sauvignon that has the capacity to age for several years.
2015
Dominique RogerSancerre
