At A Glance
- Field
- Detail
- Region
- Loire, France
- Appellation
- Sancerre
- Main grapes
- Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir
- Featured bottle
- 2024 Sancerre Blanc
- Defining feature
- Named parcel wines in white and red Sancerre
The Producer
Domaine Vacheron manages 34 hectares of Sauvignon Blanc and 11 hectares of Pinot Noir in Sancerre. The domaine makes white, rosé and red wines, with standard cuvées alongside bottles from named parcels.
Sancerre Blanc forms the entry cuvée, while the range also includes Sancerre Rosé and Sancerre Rouge. The red wines bring Pinot Noir into an appellation more often associated with Sauvignon Blanc.
Place
Domaine Vacheron is based in Sancerre, in France's Loire region. Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir share the vineyards, so the appellation appears in white, rosé and red forms.
The white range carries several parcel names, while Belle Dame and Les Marnes give the red wines their own site addresses within Sancerre.
Soil And Site
The domaine's named parcels include both limestone and flint soils. Les Garennes combines limestone with a chalky character. L'Enclos des Remparts comes from flint soils that impart smoky lift and definition.
Belle Dame is also from flint soils. Its place in the range is therefore tied to the same hard, mineral ground that marks one of the domaine's white parcel wines, but the bottle remains a Pinot Noir Sancerre Rouge.
Story
Maurice Vacheron established the domaine in 1898 as a modest family vineyard in Sancerre. The estate now works Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir across its vineyard holdings, with both grapes appearing in the bottled range.
The family name remains attached to wines that move from standard Sancerre Blanc to named white and red parcels. The founding vineyard and the present range are joined by the same place name, Sancerre.
Vineyards And Cellar
The domaine's vineyards are planted to Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir. The 2024 Sancerre Blanc is 100% Sauvignon Blanc and ferments with natural yeasts.
Natural yeast fermentation uses the yeasts present on the grapes and in the cellar, allowing fermentation to begin without a commercial yeast addition.
Wines
The white range begins with standard Sancerre Blanc and extends into named parcel wines: Les Romains, Chambrates, Paradis, Guigne Chèvres, Le Pavé, Lieu dit, Les Garennes and L'Enclos des Remparts. Les Romains is described as age worthy and collectible.
Sancerre Rosé is a dry rosé. Sancerre Rouge has a refined Burgundian personality, with Belle Dame from flint soils and Les Marnes as named red parcel wines.
In The Glass
Chambrates is broader, fruitier and more savory than the other white parcels. Paradis is racy, finishing with a sea salty note. Guigne Chèvres is aromatically rich and silky, while Le Pavé is steely and expressive. Lieu dit combines plush ripeness with cooler climate energy.
Les Marnes is fresh yet full bodied, with red berry fruit. Red Sancerres from Domaine Vacheron are light to medium bodied and beautifully perfumed, with the capacity to last decades.
A Bottle To Understand It
Choose the 2024 Sancerre Blanc. It is the standard entry cuvée, with aromas of grapefruit zest and gunflint, followed by lemons, limes, sea salt and crisp pears on the palate.
The bottle places Sauvignon Blanc at the centre of the domaine's Sancerre range before the named parcel wines narrow the view to places such as Les Romains, Chambrates and Paradis.
Anecdote
In a tasting decades after the 1996 vintage, Domaine Vacheron's Sancerre Rouge Belle Dame was still fresh as a daisy and drinking perfectly. Belle Dame is a red parcel wine from flint soils, made from Pinot Noir. Vacheron's red Sancerres are light to medium bodied and beautifully perfumed, with the capacity to last decades. The tasting note stayed attached to a specific bottle, a specific vintage and a named wine, the 1996 Belle Dame.
Final Word
Domaine Vacheron makes white, rosé and red Sancerre from Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir, with standard cuvées alongside named parcel wines such as Les Romains, Belle Dame and Les Marnes.
Sources
1. https://www.northberkeleyimports.com/wordpress/project/domaine-vacheron/ 2. https://www.the-buyer.net/people/producer/domaine-vacheron-king-sancerre 3. https://www.bbr.com/producer-735-domaine-vacheron 4. https://sommselect.com/blogs/tasting-notes/behind-the-wine-domaine-vacheron 5. https://merchantofwine.com/products/domaine-vacheron-sancerre-blanc-loire-france-2024