Sancerre Rouge, Domaine Serge Laloue

A silky smooth light bodied and fresh wine with delicate aromas of raspberry and strawberry, layered with an appealing hint of smoke and a touch of pepper on the finish.

Producer Note

The domain is located five kilometres south of Sancerre in Thauvenay and was established by Serge Laloue in the 1960s. Christine and her brother Franck have continued their father’s work since the 1990s and Clément, Franck's son, recently joined the domain following his viticulture studies. The estate revolves around an environmentally responsible approach with meticulous work in the vineyards to respect the natural balance of the vines and obtain the highest quality grapes. In 2019, the domain started the conversion to organic farming, a natural progression as their farming methods were already very close to organic. The first certified organic vintage will be 2023. The domain is HVE certified, a complementary certification recognising environmental biodiversity and natural resource management. 

Vintage

The winter of 2019 was mild with average rainfall. This sparked the vine’s growth cycle and bud break took place early. The summer was warm and dry, with several heat-waves, which allowed the vines to flourish, the grapes to mature and concentrated the flavours in the berries. The natural water reserves prevented any hydric stress. Harvest took place in the first week of September, resulting in elegant wines with excellent fruit concentration, balanced by natural acidity. 

Vineyard

The grapes come from 2.5 hectares of vineyard within the estate, from vines with an average age of 30 to 35 years, which produce low yields of concentrated fruit. The vines face a south-easterly orientation, maximising exposure to the sun to assist ripening of the berries. The soils are 50% clay flint, which impart smoky mineral characters and 50% clay limestone, resulting in elegant and fresh wines. The vineyard is currently in conversion to organic status, indeed the farming methods used over many years have followed these principles. Vineyard management techniques include ploughing the soil instead of using herbicides, growing cover crops between the rows of vines and sexual confusion of predators, to maintain the health of the vines and the biodiversity of the environment. 

Winemaking

The grapes were carefully selected and underwent a cold pre-fermentation maceration followed by gentle crushing. At the beginning of fermentation, which took place with selected yeasts, regular ‘pigeage’ or punching-down of the cap took place, submerging the skins into the juice to extract the desired levels of colour, flavour and tannins. Once fermentation was complete, 50% of the wine was aged in stainless steel tanks, while the remaining 50% was matured in 600 litre French oak barrels. The wine was bottled without fining or filtration. 

Tasting Note

The delicate bouquet of raspberry and wild strawberry jam is layered with an appealing hint of smoke. Silky smooth and rounded on the palate with lovely purity of fruit leading to a touch of pepper on the finish. 

Grape

Pinot Noir 100%