Sancerre, Paul Prieur 2020

Wine people often talk about soil types as the defining feature of a wine’s character. This is oftentimes dangerous territory to get into when making generalizations, as very few wines come from grapes planted on a uniform soil type, as soils can change drastically even within a matter of meters. Sometimes it’s best to get an overview of a region by seeing the same grape made in the same way from differing soil types. Barolo, Rioja, Napa, and Champagne are examples of regions where usually the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. 

Another place to really study major soil differences is Sancerre, where 3 main kinds dominate- caillottes (stony soils in the western part of the appellation), silex (clay with a high proportion of flint close to the river), and Terres blanches (the famed Kimmeridgian limestone imbued with ancient seabed fossils near the village of Chavignol). The entry-level bottling from Paul Prieur features all 3 in significant amounts, and they combine to create a wine that really defines Sancerre- green, crisp, and minerally, with a good dollop of fruit due to the warm vintage. Have with crab cakes.

Must be 21 years old to purchase. ID is required at delivery or in-store pickup.