Claude Riffault | Loire | Sancerre blanc “Les Chailloux” AOC | 2023 | 750ml | bio

Beschreibung

Product description for Claude Riffault Sancerre blanc “Les Chailloux” AOC 2023 (bio)

Les Chailloux comprises two small plots totaling 0.6 hectares, facing southwest at an altitude of around 250 meters. The vines are between 40 and 47 years old and rooted in flint. The harvest is carried out by hand, with careful selection in the vineyard. Pressing is slow and gentle using a pneumatic press. The must is clarified in a cool, gravity-fed atmosphere – without any technical intervention. Fermentation is spontaneous, using natural yeasts. The wine then ages on its full lees for 14 months in multi-filled wooden barrels. Bâtonnage is practiced very sparingly. Stéphane Riffault deliberately forgoes malolactic fermentation in favor of clarity and freshness.

Colour

Straw yellow with green reflections.

Nose

The 2023 Les Chailloux Sancerre blanc from Claude Riffault has a smoky, daring aroma on the nose, which is due to the flint content of the soils. The slightly smoky top note, above the obligatory citrus notes of lemon and lime zest, is accompanied by aromas of white flowers, wet pebbles, and slightly tropical notes of yellow guavas.

Palate

Straightforward and clear, it is aromatically tart on the palate with notes of grapefruit, the white of the lemon, and lime oil. Paired with a powdery, fine texture, it has excellent grip on the palate, tartly flanked by the wine’s slightly bitter phenolics with a cool nature and extract-rich, sinewy fruit. A crystal-clear, perfectly choreographed wine with radiant brilliance and a cool, citrusy, long finish.

Copyright Vinaturel 2025

Keywords: Claude Riffault Sancerre blanc “Les Chailloux” AOC 2023 bio Loire France

Vinous

Score: (90-92)

In 2023, Les Chailloux underwent malo for the first time, which gives it a richness and roundness in the mouth. However, it lacks some of the flinty grip and tension that make this cuvée so identifiable. The 2023 is still a good wine with fine texture, balance and a touch of oak-derived spice, but it has lost that bitterness and tension that carries it through the finish.
— Rebecca Gibb MW
Drinking window: 2025 – 2031
Review date: Aug 2024

Producer website: https://www.clauderiffault.com/