Domaine du Pre Semele Sancerre ‘Les Chasseignes’

A classic Sancerre with crisp, crunchy grapefruit and lime citrus flavours and a gently herbaceous element adding complexity. There is a mouthwatering, saline minerality to the long finish. Just brilliant.

This single vineyard Sancerre is made from 30-50+ year old vines planted solely on an area of ‘Caillottes’, a unique terroir of rough limestone pebbles mixed with argilo-calcaire to a depth of 30cm, with pure limestone rock below. This imparts a purity of flavour, minerality and finesse. The vineyard includes 5 small parcels inherited from the winemakers’ grandparents. No chemical weed killers, insecticides or fungicides are used. Pressing is long and gentle followed by settling of the juice for 24 hours in cool, temperature controlled tanks. The clear juice is racked and a neutral yeast is added to start the fermentation. Fermented in stainless steel and enamel at a low temperature (16 to 18°C), it then spends 12 months on its lees in 20hl foudres. The lees are stirred to add complexity and depth to the flavour. Finally the wine is stabilised and filtered in February-March and bottled in early summer.