A New Classic
Seemingly overnight, our beloved Sancerre producer Vincent Gaudry has been discovered by the media—with recent coverage by Robert Parker, Decanter, La Revue du vin de France and PUNCH.
I say "discovered" because Gaudry doesn't solicit press (the wines always sell out as it is). Either through word-of-mouth or picking up a bottle somewhere, reviewers found him. Gaudry is simply that good; he's one of those special winegrowers who draw people in.
We've been importing Gaudry's "Mélodie de Vieilles Vignes" Sancerre for about 8 years. If you're already a fan, kudos for recognizing a star on the rise; if you don't know the wine yet, the new press coverage simply adds another reason to consider working with it.
Mélodie is a key part of Gaudry's story. It was not only his first wine, it was also a bold testament to quality when it launched in 1998.
The most obvious quality marker is the name, which means "the melody of old vines." Indeed, Mélodie's vines are not just old (50-90 years), they are 100% massale selections of original Sancerre vines; Gaudry believes these berries contain the "original" Sancerre taste. (As Sancerre vineyards have quadrupled over the past 50 years, newer, higher-yielding clones have come to dominate; and most of the original 700 Ha Sancerre appellation have been replanted with new high-yielding clones.)
It may have seemed an expensive and risky choice given that Mélodie was his first wine, but Gaudry, just 23 at the time, was part renegade, part "old soul" with a devotion to terroir that verged on transcendent.
Vincent Gaudry shares his passion and reverence for the ancient soils of Sancerre.
When he showed Mélodie at trade tastings, Gaudry found encouragement from specialty importers, who peppered him with questions about the parallels with Burgundy: What about the soils?
Gaudry was primed to answer: Mélodie is grown in "terres blanches" (Kimmeridgian marls), the crème de la crème among Sancerre soils.
And what about farming? Gaudry was ahead on that front, too. While some producers were just finding their way to organic practices, Gaudry had already moved on to biodynamics in a quest for a purer expression. (His estate was certified biodynamic in 2004—the first in Sancerre.)
Gaudry has earned a reputation and a following for biodynamic practices.
These were all the right answers for terroir-minded importers eager for the very best expression of Sancerre. Within a few years, Gaudry's wines were being enjoyed in markets around the world. And the rest, as they say, is history.
Given that the "original" taste of Sancerre has become so rare, some are surprised that Mélodie displays Chablis-like qualities. Indeed, that is the hallmark of classic "terres blanches" Sancerre according to Raj Parr, Tom Stevenson, Jancis Robinson, and many other long-time commentators.
This Chablis-like character comes through in Robert Parker's tasting note of Melodie, especially when you compare to other "terres blanches" Sancerres they reviewed.
By the way, Parker's reviewer, Stephane Reinhardt, covered only 5 other Sancerre producers (Claude Riffault, Gérard Boulay, Domaine Vacheron, Henri Bourgeois, Alphonse Mellot), another indication of the stature that Gaudry has achieved.
Please let us know if you'd like to pick some up.
