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+.

The 2024 Sancerre from Comte Lafond has turned out beautifully in this challenging vintage. The wine comes in at thirteen percent octane and its aromatic constellation delivers scents of lemon, green apple, gooseberry, chalky minerality, newly-mown grass and a topnote of citrus zest. On the palate the wine is full-bodied, crisp and soil-driven in personality, with a good core of fruit, a lovely girdle of acidity, fine focus and grip and a long, well balanced and complex finish. This is quite lovely. 2025-2035.

The 2023 Pouilly-Fumé from Domaine de Ladoucette is another beautiful wine in a long string of beautiful wines from this iconic estate. The bouquet is deep, pure and still fairly youthful, wafting from the glass in a complex blend of lemon, green apple, gooseberry, gentle grassiness, a lovely foundation of flinty soil tones and a floral topnote redolent of white lilies and lime blossoms. On the palate the wine is deep, crisp, precise and full-bodied, with a great core of fruit, superb mineral undertow, zesty acids and a very long, impeccably balanced and focused finish. I love the backend lift here! This is delicious right out of the blocks, but will age beautifully and will be an even better drink five to ten years down the road. 2025-2040.

“A richly styled version, with a beautiful mix of sweet lemon, chamomile and dried thyme flavors that take on a creamy feel on the palate. Reveals sea salt and dried hay accents, with fresh scallion notes on the savory, well-cut finish. Drink now through 2027.”