This is a beautiful Sauvignon Blanc. Yeasty muddled pear, honey-glazed apple tart and bread dough aromas entice the nose that is dusted with honeysuckle. The layered palate raises orchard fruit that is enriched with crushed stone and dried white blossom that lingers on the finish.

This is a classic Pouilly-Fumé. Gala apple and late-summer field grass fronds tussle in front of an audience of lilac and orange blossom on the nose. A mix of orchard fruit and dried lemon peel fills the palate that is fruity without being indulgent.

This is a well-put-together Sancerre. Golden apple and toasted lemon peel aromas open on the nose that sees a touch of hay and freshly-cut grass. The mouthwatering palate wraps around a core of shattered stone and citrus with a hint of dried mint leaf on the finish.

The 2023 “Les Deux Tours” from Baron Patrick de Ladoudcette is a very fine example of Touraine Sauvignon Blanc. The bouquet is bright and complex, wafting from the glass in a blend of gooseberry, green apple, fresh-cut grass, chalky soil tones and a topnote of white flowers. On the palate the wine is vibrant, complex and full-bodied, with a lovely core of fruit, excellent soil inflection and grip, a fine spine of acidity and a long, complex and beautifully balanced finish. Fine juice. 2025-2032.

The Comte Lafond bottling of Sancerre from Patrick Ladoucette is an excellent wine in the 2023 vintage. The wine’s aromatic constellation delivers a deep and complex blend of lemon, gooseberry, fruit blossoms, a lovely base of terres blanches soil tones, gentle notes of grassiness and a lovely topnote of other Sancerrois botanicals. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and complex, with a superb core of fruit, lovely soil undertow and grip, a fine girdle of acidity and a long, beautifully balanced and still fairly youthful finish. This is tasty already, but more complexity and precision will emerge if the wine is given a bit of bottle age. It is first class Sancerre! 2025-2035+.