2014 Domaine Daulny Sancerre Le Clos de Chaudenay 750 ml

Le Clos de Chaudenay: 70-Year-Old-Vine Sancerre

The juicy, exquisitely mineral Sauvignon Blancs of Sancerre have long been our go-to white wines for spring and summer drinking. But just as is the case in Alsace, the Mâconnais, or neighboring Pouilly-sur-Loire, of the hundreds of cellars in the Sancerrois, less than a dozen consistently give birth to world-class whites.

While some of the secret sauce is applied in the cellar, it’s really the exposition of each small parcel, the age of the vines, and rigor of farming protocol that set the master vignerons apart. At Domaine du Carrou, Dominique Roger’s tiny production of Le Chêne Marchand, a tiny 1.5-acre holding, makes for the appellation’s most riveting and tightly wound Sancerre. François Cotat’s famed La Grande Côte above Chavignol gives birth to a Sauvignon Blanc of astonishing richness and unctuousness. Finally, just outside of Verdigny in the still-smaller hamlet of Chaudenay, the Daulny brothers — Etienne and his enologist brother, Bertrand — consistently craft the juiciest and seductive Sancerre off the 70-year-old vines of Le Clos de Chaudenay.

Stephen Tanzer, for over 30 years the world’s most revered Burgundy critic, has been enamored of Sancerre — particularly the lush, steely versions that marry apple-pear juiciness with bracing Loire Valley acidity. Every year, Tanzer did as we do, making the rounds in Chavignol, Bué, Amigny, and Verdigny where the appellation’s top cellars are found. Since 2009, a small handful of Sancerres have garnered 92 points from the stingiest critic on the planet. Daulny’s “Le Clos de Chaudenay” is one of just three.

In our opinion and also that of the Daulny brothers, the just-released 2014 “Le Clos de Chaudenay” is the richest and most succulent … since 1985! Here’s why.

2014 — already being touted as one of the finest Loire Valley Sauvignon Blanc vintages in 20 years — seemed poised for disaster in early July. “We’d have rain one day, sunshine the next,” Etienne told us during our visit in February. “Then more rain. The old vines were doing their part. The Sauvignon was slowly ripening, but due to the high humidity, we worried about disease and mildew.”

But then came September, one of the most glorious in decades. There was barely a cloud in the sky. Days were warm and dry. The wind blew steadily, cleansing the vines of Chaudenay. For six straight weeks, the sun shined. The Indian summer conditions erased all the summer’s concerns; golden Sauvignon Blanc berries were nursed to full maturity even as acids remained electrifying. “The 2014 not only eclipses the 2009,” Bertrand told us, “we have to go all the way back to 1985 to find a vintage with such ripeness and vibrancy.”

The 2014 Domaine Daulny Sancerre Le Clos de Chaudenay is a KNOCKOUT. Brilliant pale-green to the rim, infused with crisp, high-toned aromas of ripe apple, pear and anise, a touch of ginger. Rich, dense and juicy on the attack, filled with ripe apple and pear, wonderfully high-toned, finishing with classic Sancerre tension and persistence. Drink now or like all great vintages of this old vine Sancerre, lay this 2014 down until sometime in the last 2020s.

$32 on release. $22 this morning, and yes, this is a CASE-buy. 1,200 bottles just hit port.