ABOUT: Domaine du Nozay in Sancerre was started by Philippe de Benoist in the early 1970’s when he purchased the incredibly regal 17th century property Chateau du Nozay. Parts of the basement date back to the 13th century, still intact. Philippe began planting Sauvignon Blanc around the property, making and selling wine. Blast forward to today and his son Cyril is running the show. Their 15 hectares of vines are in the town Sainte Gemme in the far north of Sancerre, so the style is lean and much more Chablis-like than Sauvignon Blanc from around the town of Sancerre itself. Unlike most of his neighbors, Cyril works the whole property using organic and biodynamic methods, and also takes the slow road when it comes to fermentation and ageing. The wines are resplendent and don’t remain on the shelf for long. TASTE: We like the tasting note winemaker Cyril wrote about the 100% Sauvignon Blanc from Domaine du Nozay “Tension, minerality, accents of white fruit and citrus. From the attack to the finish, the mouth is supple, expressive and elegant.” We’d add that there’s loads of character and has a structure will aid it in long, positive development. The grapes are harvested at optimal ripeness but the style is leaner since they’re so far north. Elegance in lieu of fat and sassy. PAIR: Baked goat cheese with walnuts, grilled vegetables with chimichurri sauce, roasted marinated bell peppers, and baked French onion Zucchini.
