Fernand Girard "La Garenne" Sancerre Blanc, Loire Valley, France 2023

FROM LOUIS/DRESSNER:

THE WINE: 100% Sauvignon Blanc. "La Garenne" was named for the original 2.5-hectare plot from which it came. Today, the name remains while the fruit may come from across the fifth-generation Girards' 14 hectares of vines, which are spread over slopes in five communes including Verdigny and Saint Satur and which include three distinct terroirs: gravel soils (caillottes), flint (silex) and heavy clay (grosses terres). The Girards farm sustainably and harvest the steepest slopes by hand and the flatter sites by machine. Parcels are vinified separately--fermented with native yeasts in steel tank--then aged in tank and blended (the US only sees "La Garenne").

THE PRODUCER: Domaine Fernand Girard is currently run by Alain Girard. He comes from several generations of winemakers in the tiny village of Chaudoux, located a few miles northwest of the town of Sancerre and directly north of the famous town of Chavignol. He tends 14 hectares of vines in total, sells some cuvées to négociants and bottles only a portion of the total production under his family name. The "La Garenne" cuvée originally came from a 2.5 hectare vineyard of that name, a plot on a steep east-facing slope with a very rocky limestone soil. The chalky soil brings out the characteristic flinty, mineral and green notes of Sauvignon Blanc. On La Garenne’s well-drained, warm slopes, the grapes achieve exceptional ripeness and fruit.

Over the years, as demand increased, it became clear that Alain would need to blend his sites together to produce more estate wine. Today, only one wine is produced in much larger quantities than when we started working together in the early 1990's. In a crass move of commercialism, it was agreed to keep the name "La Garenne" since it was a "recognizable brand". Compared to those in other viticultural regions in France, most of Sancerre’s vignerons have stricter than usual standards of cellar tidiness and hygiene. It might be the influence of the local goat cheese making, which was traditionally done on a very small, artisanal scale, by people who knew the importance of a pristine environment.