2021 Domaine de la Villaudiere Sancerre 750 ml

It’s a small miracle that we can bring you Domaine de la Villaudière’s excellent 2021 Sancerre. 

Sancerre is white-hot for American wine lovers: The US consumes 51% of all Sancerre exported, and because of this huge demand, prices are steadily blowing past $35—and allocations are vanishing.

And then came 2021, when Mother Nature brought a spring frost that cut yields by 50%.

So when our importer showed us Domaine de la Villaudiere’s striking 2021—crafted diligently by vintner Jean-Marie Reverdy and his sons, who have been working their vineyards sustainably for over 20 years—we were thrilled. The proof was in the glass: It was clear the Reverdys are working just as hard as the Vacherons and Crochets of the world—but charging significantly less. 

Jean-Marie runs this superb domaine, now in its 11th generation, with his wife Catherine and his two sons, Guillaume and Baptiste. Their family vineyards average 40 years of age and benefit from a sunny, southeastern exposure that lets the grapes ripen gradually and evenly. The vines are famed according to the philosophy of lutte raisonnée, which eschews pesticides and other chemicals in favor of natural treatments, and the Reverdys also earned the highest level of the prestigious HVE (High Environmental Value) certification in 2020. 

We decided to put the 2021 Domaine de la Villaudiere to the test at Bouchon in Yountville, pairing their legendary seafood tower with the 2019 Domaine Vacheron Sancerre Le Paradis ($65). The Reverdys’ focus and concentration held its own brilliantly with the Vacheron, and meshed perfectly with the cold shellfish. This is one Sancerre value we’re going to be proud to pour for our own guests at home.