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- Curated by unrivaled experts
- Choose your delivery date
- Temperature controlled shipping options
- Get credited back if a wine fails to impress
We Locked It In Before It Hit The Water
We are in rather cutthroat times when it comes to Sancerre.
Take legions of restaurants eager to pour these Sauvignon Blancs by the glass, add scores of consumers realizing they need to order Sancerre by the case—then combine it with a series of short-supply vintages—and we’ve learned to move VERY quickly to lock down the great ones for you.
The moment we tasted an air-freighted sample of 2022 Raffaitin-Planchon Sancerre, we knew we had to have it for our MICHELIN Wine Club, partnering with two-star L’Atelier de Joël Robuchon in Miami. Crisp, vibrant, and citrusy, the terrific 2022 vintage gave this wine the kind of concentration on the palate that is right at home on a two-star table.
This is a small, artisan winery run by a father and son: Jean-Claude and Antoine Raffaitin. It's only about 15 hectares, which they farm sustainably according to the principles of lutte raisonée, which, roughly translated, means “We’re organic until it’s absolutely impossible to be.” No pesticides or herbicides are used. The Raffaitins also dedicate much of their land to other crops, encouraging biodiversity. The vines here are now 40 years old, which is the key to this wine’s intensity.
2022 is one of the best vintages in this central district of the Loire valley in 30 years, thanks to warm conditions and low yields. While the first half of the year was very dry and warm, some freshening rain arrived just before harvest, giving the finished wines brightness and tension. This is an all-class, textbook Sancerre one would use to study for an MS or MW exam.