Domaine Francois Crochet, Sancerre Rouge, Resérve de Marcigoué, Loire, France, 2023

Producer Profile

To the southwest of the town of Sancerre, lies the tiny commune of Bué. Here you find François Crochet single handedly managing his 10 hectares.

Doing much of the work in the vineyards himself, he is committed to hand harvesting to help maintain the quality of the resulting wine. Unable to make enough wine to keep pace with demand these wines are some of the most precise and refined Sancerres you will ever get to taste.

Viticulture

"La Réserve de Marcigoué" - local dialect for "Thank God" is a grape selection from south/ south-east facing chalky hills. Most of these Pinot Noir grapes come from the famous terroir ‘Petit Chemarin’ and ‘Grand Chemarin’ located in Bué. These vines are 35 years old on average. Grapes are hand-harvested and rigorously sorted. The harvest date for each parcel is set after daily analysis of the juice and tasting of both grapes and juice in order to find the perfect maturity. The yield aimed for this cuvée varies between 30 and 40 hl per ha.

Winemaking

Thanks to a vibrating table and the careful work of the workers, grapes are sorted before being partly destemmed. Then they are transported into a wooden truncated vat on a conveyor belt. A native yeast fermentation starts after a cold maceration. Vatting lasts between 20 to 30 days according to the vintage. This wine is aged in large oak vats for 16 to 18 months. No fining.

Tasting Note

A very complex Pinot Noir from this outstanding producer. Rounded and velvety with lashings of cranberries, raspberries and soft smoky flavours.

Food Matching

This can stand up to rich beef and flavoursome game dishes.