Karine Lauverjat Pouilly Fume 2021

For the last 10 to 15 years, most of the folks in the restaurant industry and myself have leaned heavily on Sancerre for great crisp, mineral whites. It’s a region that has also been so good to me, and the demand these days is through the roof, even as prices have practically doubled in the last 20 years.

But if you’ve been around for as long as I have, you remember a time in which you would only order a Sancerre at a restaurant IF they didn’t have a Pouilly-Fume because it was considered lesser than its Loire Valley neighbor. Eventually, something changed–I don’t know what it was, but some wine experts think it was as simple as Sancerre being easier to pronounce!

The Pouilly Fume I had last week was absolutely lights out. I’m telling you, it’s qualitatively excellent. It completely shames most Sancerre and does it at a price that Sancerre hasn’t seen in years. The best part is that Karine Lauverjat is actually a well-known Sancerre producer, but I actually thought their PF was a lot better this vintage.

The Lauverjat Pouilly Fume 2021 was born just across the Loire River from Sancerre, where the soil is rich with river deposits, Portlandian limestone, and Kimmerdigian limestone. It really is the triple threat of soil, and this flint influence gives the wine incredible depth and beauty. This one has it all.