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Biodynamic. Together with its sister-in-arms Cuvée Edmond, Dix-Neuf is the antithesis of modern, ‘textbook’ Sancerre. This jaw-dropping Sancerre is drawn from the oldest vines in the Moussière vineyard (approximately 100 years of age), cropped at Grand Cru Burgundy-level yields (in fact the lower end of this range). The wine was fermented and raised in 2,000-litre, tronconique wooden tanks for 12 months before a spell in steel on lees. Only 500 cases per year get to see the light of day.
It’s an intense, arresting wine, unfolding in a dizzying array of citrus oil, hints of pepper, tonic, iodine, pear sorbet and spice. Yet these complex aromas play behind an almost otherworldly weightless structure and crackling energy. Imagine the intensity and texture of great white Burgundy, but with the racy core of acidity you find in great Riesling or Chenin Blanc. As difficult they are to describe, both this and the cuvée Edmond below stack up to the finest whites on the planet; both are intensely mineral Sancerres that make a bold statement about what Sauvignon Blanc can be.