Claude Riffault | Loire | Sancerre blanc “Les Chasseignes” AOC | 2022 | 750ml | bio

Description

Product description for Claude Riffault Sancerre blanc “Les Chasseignes” AOC 2022 (bio)

Information about the wine

The name Les Chasseignes refers less to a specific vineyard than to a soil type, actually called Caillottes. It lies beneath the Terres blanches layer and is characterized by Calcaire à Astéries, made up of fossilized starfish, and Calcaire de Tonnerre, an originally very hard limestone that has weathered into a sponge-like, porous limestone. Both types of limestone combine here. Stéphane Riffault’s Les Chasseignes is located northeast of the village of Sury-en-Vaux at an altitude of 275 meters, facing east and southeast. He owns eleven plots there totaling 3.25 hectares. The vines range in age from 17 to 45 years. The grapes were harvested by hand, sorted, and then very slowly pneumatically pressed. Clarification took place under cool conditions and by gravity. The juice fermented spontaneously and matured on the lees for 14 months in multiple-barreled wooden barrels. The lees were only sporadically stirred. Stéphane Riffault avoids malolactic fermentation.

Colour

: Light straw yellow with light green reflections

Nose

From the very first moment, the Sancerre “Les Chasseignes” offers a wealth of aromas and impressions that range from “citrusy, powerful, and purist” to “elegant, sensual, and opulent.” It’s astonishing how seamlessly they all come together here. The Sancerre opens with a blend of lemons and tangerines, green apples and pears, some yellow plum and star fruit, but also with notes of celery stick and herbs, as well as a hint of vanilla and lemon curd.

Palate

On the palate, the Sancerre offers a silky, full texture with plenty of volume and density, while also offering vibrant power and minerality, plenty of salt and lemon, white fruit, an accompanying hint of wood and vanilla, and plenty of punchy acidity. This is a very complete Sancerre, challenging yet simultaneously providing a pleasant sense of relaxation.

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Keywords: Claude Riffault Sancerre blanc “Les Chasseignes” AOC 2022 bio Loire France

Wine Advocate

Score: 95

Exhibiting a delicate, subtle bouquet of oak reduction, white orchard fruits and flowers, the 2022 Sancerre Les Chasseignes possesses a medium to full-bodied, satiny and deep palate with a seamless texture, a fleshy core of fruit and a long, saline, ethereal finish. Matured for 14 months in barrels, this Sancerre, crafted from vines planted on chalky soils at the top of hillsides facing northeast, is simply stunning.
Yohan Castaing

Vinous

Score: 92

The 2022 Les Chasseignes is a fine, rounded wine with some sweet vanilla oak meeting nectarine. It has excellent clarity and is refined and elegant. Offering precision and detail, no hair is out of place here. There’s a lovely chalky texture on the finish.
— Rebecca Gibb MW
Drinking window: 2024 – 2030
Review date: Aug 2024

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