Domaine Etienne Daulny Reserve Sancerre 2024
(Loire Valley, France)

About the Wine:
Etienne Daulny owns 15 hectares of vines that are divided into about 50 different plots within the Sancerre wine region. Daulny combines diverse plots from varying types of soil, including clay and flint, Portlandian and Kimmeridgian, into his regular cuvée of Sancerre. But Daulny's cuvée normale is far from normal. After all, grapes from some of the appellation’s most revered vineyards make their way into this cuvée, including old vine plantings at Les Monts Damnés, Les Bois Butteux, and La Perriere.

The domaine's overall yield is about 50 hl/ha (high for certain regions but normal for Sancerre). Most of Daulny's wine is fermented and aged in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks. The wine sees no malolactic fermentation and thus retains freshness and vibrancy beneath plenty of forward, ripe fruit.

Made from 40-year-old sauvignon blanc vines, this Sancerre captures the essence of the grape with floral, mineral and ground coffee bean aromas and grapefruit, white peach flavors. A small percentage was aged in older oak but the fruit from this vineyard is powerful enough to absorb it, giving the wine a bit of texture and body. With bright acidity and fruit, this is a great wine to have with a fish dish cooked with fava beans as well as one where the favas are the main event.