2021 Claude Riffault Les Denisottes Sancerre, Loire Valley

The 2021 Sancerre Les Denisottes is based on old vines rooting in deep Kimmeridgian terres blanches soils only 100 meters from the domaine. The widely branched root system has emancipated this Riffault "chateau wine" from vintage caprices. The nose is clear, intense and pure in its iodine and mineral-oyster expression that integrates discreet fruit hints of limes, lemons and cassis. On the palate, this is a full-bodied, intense and rich but also refined and elegant Sancerre with a long, tensile and structured finish. This is a purely mineral Sancerre with stimulating salts and generous but neither prominent nor dominant fruit. The Denisottes is a safe bet here, and it's always exciting in its high-energy performance paired with purity and finesse. Highly recommended. Biodynamic. 13% stated alcohol. Natural cork. Tasted in March 2023.

94 points Stephan Reinhardt robertparker.com

And all the hard work has paid off! The winery is certified organic since 2016 and producing the most beautiful and purest expression of its terroirs; 13.5 hectares across 6 different locations and 3 different soils to be precise: "Each vineyard has its own rhythm according to its age, exposure and grape variety. In Sancerre, three main soil types predominate. The limestone-heavy slopes of “caillottes” are on small, gentle hills. They produce perfumed, floral and fruity wines for enjoying young. To the north and north-west and sculpted by the Loire River, the “terres blanches” are steep limestone-marl slopes producing wines with a broader base. They are discrete in their first year, their character emerging very gradually thereafter.  If you follow the Sancerre from north to south, the "silex" (flinty-clay) soils endow the wines with a rich constitution and a minerality which is totally unique." The care Stéphane is applying in the vineyards is also felt in the winery: the carefully selected and handpicked fruit is transferred to the nearby winery, where grapes and must are only moved via gravity. Vinification and élevage take place by soil and plot type, and after spending 11 months in oak the naturally fermented wines are being bottled unfiltered.