Domaine du Carrou Chene Marchand Sancerre 2019

A few winters ago, back when people traveled from one country to another, I received an incredible one on one education on the differences of the terroir of Sancerre from the master himself, Dominique Roger. (I also was lucky enough to have his wife cook us a traditional dinner with about 20 different vintages of Sancerre white and red but that’s a different story).

I’m not gonna lie, I generally thought of Sancerre as a pretty simple, crisp white that offers incredible value, food friendliness and consistency. But I have changed my tune after walking through the vineyards with Dominique, freezing my butt off for over 4 hours.

Each site offered incredibly different soil and exposure just like in Burgundy. We walked through one vineyard that was so filled with chalk rock that the ground looked like the desert floor. You want to know why your wine tastes like minerals? This couldn’t have been more clear here!

When I asked why I’ve never had the full range of wines, his explanation was easy. “We don’t send it to America”. Naturally. As I coyly asked to buy a case for personal consumption, Dominique did me one better and gave me a handful of cases to take back for the restaurant.

That was the 2018 Les Deserts – and those cases disappeared in a single afternoon. Today’s Marchand from the 2019 vintage of a lifetime won’t last much longer.