De Ladoucette Sancerre Comte Lafond 2023

Comte Lafond's roots reach back further than almost any name in the Loire. A Burgundian nobleman looking to diversify his holdings, the original Comte Lafond bought his first vineyard land here in 1787, on the very eve of the French Revolution — and the estate has remained in the same family line ever since, passed down to Baron Patrick de Ladoucette, who has directed the wider Ladoucette estates (spanning Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé, Chablis, Vouvray, and Chinon) since 1972. Comte Lafond is the flagship Sancerre label, drawing on some 35 hectares spread across the appellation's most respected villages — Bué, Chavignol, Verdigny, and Chaudoux — giving the estate access to Sancerre's full range of soil types: clay, limestone, and silica, with vines averaging around thirty years old. The winemaking is notably meticulous for a wine of this scale: fruit is hand-sorted and gently pressed "à la champenoise" with careful parcel separation, then undergoes a slow, six-to-eight week fermentation in temperature-controlled stainless steel to preserve the Sauvignon Blanc's natural aromatics.

The result is a benchmark expression of the appellation: citrus, summer fruit, and honeyed notes lead on the nose, carried through to a vibrant, elegant palate with characteristic Sancerre minerality and a long, stony finish.