After many years of fighting New York sommeliers to obtain the brilliant Sancerre wines from Vincent Gaudry, today we finally received an ample allocation that should keep our thirsts quenched (at least through mid-May). If you already love Sancerre, prepare to try two of the most benchmark wines that leave the region each year. If you've abandoned Sancerre for less trodden pastures because of its gleeful ubiquity in cafes and bistros throughout the world, here is a superb reason to return. These are extremely limited, artisanal Sancere from Vincent Gaudry, who was the very first Demeter-certified biodynamic convert in the region in 2004. It's no wonder that Pascaline Lepeltier, one of the most well respected knowledge leaders for Loire Valley wines, has been touting the wines for nearly two decades as one of the region's best.
The respect and esteem of this estate does not end there. Let me share some background. For those unfamiliar with the legendary Edmond Vatan of Clos La Néore in Chavignol, who passed away in 2022 at the ripe age of 92 years, this estate is the most "confidential" and expensive of all of Sancerre's properties. Didier Dageneau even listed him as a mentor. Edmond's daughter Anne Vatan has enlisted Vincent Gaudry to farm the family's plots, making Gaudry the hidden auteur behind the estate's vineyards since 2018.
Andrew Tamers, the owner of farmhouse Spanish and French importer De Maison Selections, wrote pure poetry about Gaudry. "A journey through the Sancerre terroir with a virtuoso like Vincent is akin to stepping through an unmarked door into a hidden universe filled with colors, flavors, and textures one did not previously know existed. We refer to Vincent Gaudry as the “last Jedi of Sancerre,” due to his mastery of the complexities of the Sancerre terroir and his humble transparency and insight when speaking about his deeply held beliefs regarding the power of the earth and energy exchange between himself, his vineyards, and wines."
In terms of winemaking, Vincent remains a traditionalist as he looks for a balance between varietal and terroir. At harvest, whole clusters are hand harvested in small baskets. The domain’s impeccable farming is preserved through a slow, intentional process and an élevage that favors patience and transparency. Most fermentations are done in temperature-controlled stainless steel and a few in barrels, all with native yeasts and minimal sulfur. The wines are then aged on lees without bâtonnage and are bottled unfined and unfiltered, according to the lunar calendar. Cork finishes are sourced from an artisanal producer in Sardinia who seasons the corks for fourteen years, as opposed to the seven years that is average for Portugal. The result is precisely-delineated wines with stony minerality, concentration, texture, weight, complexity, and a lengthy, vibrant finish. Hands down, Vincent Gaudry ranks among the top five estates in Sancerre today. - BRANDON KERNE, MASTER SOMMELIER
Per Importer De Maison: "Gaudry’Olle is the first release (2022 was the first vintage) of a visionary new project called “La Grande Pièce” in Crézancy-en-Sancerre, an area just 9km southwest of Sancerre, just across the Sancerre AOP border, on a plateau at 300m elevation, where the soil has a calcareous clay top layer, with caillottes underneath. Vincent had climate change in mind when in 2019 he planted sauvignon blanc vines from a massale selection of his 90+ year-old vines from his La Rabotine vineyard in Sury-en-Vaux. Crézancy-en-Sancerre is located in a naturally cooler location at a higher elevation, where the sauvignon blanc variety ripens eight days behind the warmer parts of the Sancerre appellation on average. Vincent thinks this terroir could be one of the most interesting areas for the region’s future due to its high natural acidity and outstanding ventilation, located high on a south-west exposed slope of a windy plateau that does not need treatment of any kind. Vincent acquired the 2ha vineyard from an old farmer friend of his, Jacques, and began immediately converting the vineyard to biodynamic viticulture, in line with Vincent’s meticulous standards."
