France’s Loire Valley boasts four main regions – the Nantais located on the eastern Atlantic coast, Anjou-Saumur inland, the Touraine where the maritime meets a continental climate and the furthest inland region, the Central Vineyards.

Sancerre is located in the Central Vineyards on the Loire River and is the homeland of racy, pungent Sauvignon Blanc wines.  It’s blessed with excellent topography and drainage as a result of its Kimmeridgian soils – limestone-based, most similar to those of Chablis and the result of marine fossils from a late Jurassic Era inland sea. The Sancerre hills have plantings at 200-400m and are mostly south and southeast facing.

This region has a purely continental climate and often experiences spring frosts. The vines are cordon or guyot trained and growers must work hard at keeping yields low, debudding and deleafing so that their Sauvignon Blanc wines don’t become overly herbaceous.

The Domaine Vincent Delaporte is a shade of medium lemon with a nose showing youthful and medium plus intense aromas of gooseberry, leaf, grapefruit, pomelo and wet rocks.

The palate is dry with refreshing acidity and flavours of green grass and leaf, more gooseberry, green apple, citrus and minerality.  The finish is medium plus.

This wine is WSET Very Good; strong acidity is balanced by a concentrated yet delicate fruit profile and minerality.  Drink now; not necessary to age.