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.”

“Shows power and length, with an alluring mix of orchard fruit and creamed apple flecked with sweet hay and honeysuckle. Still refreshing and vibrant, with fresh-cut chive, smoke and flint shavings on a persistent finish marked by brioche and fleur de sel. Drink now through 2027.”

“This wine has benefited from time in bottle. Lemon tending towards gold in color, it has a complex nose of golden apple, brioche, toast and dried oak. On the palate, the wine has youthful acidity with a mature texture and some herbal hints. Drink now, but can age for two to three years.”