The Summer Supply of of Serge Laporte's Sancerre from Chavignol

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White Wine Country - The Sancerre vineyards with the hilltop village in the distance

I am thinking about Sancerre. Partially because I have a glass in my hand and partially because I just received a new supply just in time for summer.

I am also thinking about Sancerre because it is a cooler, very pretty high ground area of the upper Loire where it is usually cool even in the summer. The grape of course is Sauvignon Blanc which reaches a perfect tart freshness here in this cooler climate.

The best Sancerre does not actually come from the hilltop Sancerre village. The wines with more character come from Bue and Chavignol. Both of these small villages are in the area but their exposure and soil of Kimmerdgian marl (which surfaces also in the Chablis area) have sufficient variation to make these villages real standouts in terms of flavors and complexity, Chavignol is home to Henri Bourgeois, the Cotat Freres, and Lucien Cotat, wines which you may recognize. These are at the top end of the price scale and can be found in better wine shops for about $25-$30 per bottle these days.

They are popular in good restaurants also but there they are twice this price again. This is also about the same price that the New Zealanders are getting for their Sauvignon Blancs. Serge Laporte is my long-time Sancerre grower. When I visit him in Chavignol there is always a small selection of the famous Crottin de Chavignol goat cheeses to complement the tasting of the recent vintages, Sancerre's acidity is an ideal match with any chevre.

Old hands of my wine shipments know Serge's wines well. They have been a favorite of ours for a long time. In fact I first started drinking Serge Laporte's Sancerre almost twenty years ago.

The Laporte vineyards are located on several different sites in Chavignol. They are beautifully exposed properties on the hillsides. Terroir is important in Sancerre. Laporte's vines are planted in parcels of caillottes which is a stony limestone with little soil and also in parcels of argile-calcaire which is clayey limestone. Each soil type contributes to the wine: caillottes produce wines that are forwardly fruity with finesse, argile- calcaire creates wines that are structured and long-lived. It is just about the best combination you can have in a Sancerre.

Serge picks the grapes by hand and vinifies them parcel by parcel to assure that the individual flavors and aromas are accentuated.

This heat has got to break but until then I am making myself thirsty and the summer heat is at least a very fine excuse for a glass of Sancerre, my absolute favoite summer white wine. It pretty good any time but in the summer it just seeems much more refeshing than Chardonnay wines.

It is time to move from the porch towards the refrigerator. The open Sancerre is already chilled. What are you drinking tonight? Cynthia Hurley

Domaine Serge Laporte - Sancerre - 2005 - $239

Save $20 Buy 2 cases $455.76 ($18.99)

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