2023 Claude Riffault Les Denisottes Sancerre, Loire Valley

Claude Riffault Les Denisottes Sancerre is one of the most precise and finely sculpted expressions of Sauvignon Blanc in the Loire Valley, shaped by Stéphane Riffault’s obsessive commitment to organic farming, meticulous vineyard work and a quiet, detail driven winemaking style. The Les Denisottes vineyard sits on the steep slopes around Sury en Vaux where very old vines plunge into pure Kimmeridgian limestone and marl. These fossil rich soils are the heartbeat of great Sancerre and give the wine its piercing mineral tension, crushed stone salinity and remarkable aromatic definition. Riffault farms the site by hand, limits yields and picks at perfect ripeness to capture both intensity and finesse.

The winemaking is gentle and transparent. Grapes are pressed slowly and fermented with indigenous yeasts in stainless steel and large neutral barrels. Extended lees contact builds texture and adds depth without compromising clarity. Stéphane Riffault’s approach mirrors top white Burgundy in its precision, creating wines that are not simply aromatic but layered, structured and deeply expressive of terroir. Les Denisottes is consistently one of his most mineral driven and tightly focused cuvées.

In the glass it shines a pale lemon gold. The nose is beautifully refined with aromas of lemon zest, lime leaf, green apple and white peach interwoven with crushed flint, wet slate, chalk dust and delicate white florals. As the wine opens, hints of fresh herbs, fennel, grapefruit pith and subtle almond appear, giving it a complexity that reveals the precision of its limestone soils.

The palate is taut, saline and exquisitely balanced. Vibrant citrus and orchard fruit glide across the tongue with electric acidity that carries a line of chalky minerality from start to finish. Flavours of lemon, pear, grapefruit, stone, smoke and a faint herbal lift build across the mid palate. The texture is refined and polished thanks to lees ageing, yet the wine remains laser focused, crystalline and energetic. The finish is long, tense and mouthwatering with lingering citrus purity and flinty salinity that is unmistakably Sancerre.

This cuvée pairs beautifully with oysters, shellfish, sashimi, goat cheese, grilled white fish, asparagus with citrus butter, herb roasted chicken or simply prepared vegetables. Its minerality and freshness make it ideal for delicate, clean flavoured dishes. It can cellar for six to eight years, gaining gentle roundness and subtle nutty depth while retaining its mineral spine.