I totally trust the guys at Social Wines, so when they recommend a wine to me, I always know there is something special about it. That said, I asked for a recommendation for a Sancerre recently and I have to say, my initial reaction to this wine was a bit of nah, don’t like it. I am so judgmental :).
Clement et Florian Berthier Sancerre Vieilles Vignes Sur Silex 2014
Never one to give up where wine is concerned, I stuck with it and found there is something special about this zippy little number.
The Sancerre wine district is a small area which surrounds the Loire Valley in Central France. Sancerre wines are famous for their crisp, fragrant white wines made from the Sauvignon Blanc grape. The Clement et Florian Berthier Sancerre has the classic sharp Sauvignon Blanc initial aroma but little in the way of fragrance. It is vibrantly peppy and a bit startling on the first sip, by that I mean I expected something just a little milder. The second sip challenged me a little with what I was tasting as this was not the fruitiest of wines. There is a distinct white grape taste but not much else that jumped immediately to mind. I was looking for complex but what I found was something quite one dimensional, which is not a bad thing as sometimes you just need something clean and simple, which we can oftentimes forget. Complicated is not always a good thing.
Do you know those complicated relationships you have had and you can’t work out what hell is going on so all you crave is something singular and easy? Well, the longer you are with this wine, the more you realize it is exactly what you want: easy, drinkable, makes you smile and with just enough edge to keep you interested.
Given my initial reaction, I have to say I ended up really enjoying the company of this wine.
This Sancerre will pair well with Thyme-Scented Goat Cheese Cakes.
My rating…
