The red side of Sancerre

Sancerre is one of those French wine regions, along with the likes of Chablis and Chateauneuf-du-Pape, that is famous the world over for producing wines of class and quality.

Break out a bottle of Sancerre at a dinner party and you will usually get a nod or a smile from your fellow dinners – a sign of acknowledgment as they recognise that something exciting it about to land in their glass.

This lauded appellation, located in France’s Loire Valley, has, of course, built its reputation on producing white wines from the Sauvignon Blanc grape variety. But, while the white wines may represent some of the finest that France has to offer, I want to look at Sancerre in a different light by focusing on its red wines.

Yes, that’s right – Sancerre produces red wine! And rosé too! It is not a widely known fact but around 25% of this mecca for lovers of aromatic white wine is planted with the red Pinot Noir grape.

France is, of course, no stranger to Pinot Noir as Burgundy undoubtedly produces some of the world’s greatest examples of this brilliant and beguiling grape variety. But, much like Alsace, which is also home to some high quality Pinot Noir, many people overlook that red wine is being made in Sancerre.

But, actually, if you look back at Sancerre before the phylloxera epidemic struck in the mid-nineteenth century, it was predominantly a red wine producing area. It was Sancerre’s neighbouring appellation on the other side of the Loire river, Pouilly Fumé, that took care of the white wines.

It was only after phylloxera that the decision was made to replant the majority of the vineyards in Sancerre with Sauvignon Blanc. The vintners would not, of course, have known it at the time, but this was a move that would not only later project Sancerre into stardom on the world wine scene but also make many of these producers enormously wealthy.

Despite making up 25% of vineyard area, the red wines of Sancerre have historically been perceived as being secondary to Sancerre blanc not only in terms of reputation but also quality. And, to be honest, until relatively recently this was largely fair as the vast majority of red Sancerre tended to be thin, light and lacking in complexity.

However, during the 1990’s, a number of the appellation’s top producers made the bold decision to place a greater focus on the production of Pinot Noir, kick-starting a wave of better quality reds. The renowned Loire expert, Jim Budd, singles out Alphonse Mellot Jr as one of those largely responsible for the dramatic improvement of the quality of Sancerre rouge.

Taking the lead from the likes of Mellot, many producers in the region started reducing Pinot Noir yields and picking more selectively in an attempt to produce more concentrated reds with greater depth and complexity.

Nowadays, the overall quality of the Pinot Noir being produced in Sancerre is unrecognisable compared with 20 years ago. Also, it is now not only the most illustrious estates but also smaller wineries, such as the likes of Domaine La Barbotaine, Domaine Franck Millet and Domaine Reverdy Ducroux, that have followed suit and are now producing top quality red Sancerre alongside their Sauvignon Blanc.

Perhaps one of the reasons that the red side of Sancerre often gets forgotten is that many people are unaware that it is made from Pinot Noir. Pinot Noir is very much on trend right now across the world but due to the idiosyncrasies of the French labelling system, the varietal is not stated on the wine label. Plus, of course, if people want great French Pinot Noir, the natural choice is understandably to turn to Burgundy.

But for people who enjoy lighter-bodied reds, are Pinot Noir fanatics like me, or who just want to explore the undiscovered side of a well-known region, red Sancerre is undeniably a great option.