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Region: France - Loire Valley - Sancerre
Grapes: Sauvignon Blanc
Alcohol: 14%
Hand Harvested, Organic, Biodynamic, Native Yeast, No Oak, Kimmeridgian Limestone Soil, 5 - 52 bYear Old Vines
Notes on the Wine
Based in the village of Sury-en-Vaux, the Stéphane Riffault works 33 different parcels in 8 different lieu-dits spread across 4 villages. The 13.5 hectares of vines are plowed and no synthetic material is used and starting in 2017 the property has been certified organic by ECOCERT and biodynamic by BIODYVIN. Unlike most Sancerre producers, the entire harvest is carried out by hand and an extensive sorting takes place before the grapes are crushed. Stéphane’s wife, Benedicte, leads the harvest team while Stéphane manages the sorting and press during harvest.
Most of the domaine’s holdings are planted on the soft limestone
soil called terres blanches with some parcels on calliottes and silex. Small, judicious uses of oak help to add length to the already precise, site-expressive and vertical bottlings. All of the parcels are vinified separately and with the exception of the rosé, all the wines are bottled unfiltered.
Having studied and worked in Burgundy (and closely with Olivier Leflaive), it’s easy to see the Burgundian influence in Stéphane’s wines. The mastery of minerality standing shoulder–height with the wood is rarely duplicated in Sancerre. Regardless of the exposition of his parcels (many are south-facing), Riffault’s wines are always crisp and high-cut with a jeweled sort of delineation that speaks to the precision and attention these wines get. These are not your daddy’s (or his daddy, Claude’s) Sancerres.
