SANCERRE

Patrick and I first visited Vincent Delaporte in 1986, a memorable end to a long day, we finished by tasting older and older red and white Sancerres. His wines were in Steven Spurrier's selection for the Caves de la Madeleine, where I had worked several years earlier, and the London end of which Patrick was running at the time. They have featured in the Lea & Sandeman selection since our very first list. The domaine passed to Vincent's son Jean-Yves and his wife Nathalie, and now their son Matthieu is in charge, after a 'stage' at L&S in the summer of 2012, and taken over the winemaking role. They have recently incorporated the vines of Matthieu's uncle, giving them three new jewels in the crown, decent holdings in the Monts Damnés and La Côte d'Amigny (also known as 'La Grande Côte'(white) and Cul de Beaujeu (red).

Matthieu has taken the domaine in the direction of organic farming, although he still hesitates over going for certification. He has stopped buying new barrels, and stopped using cultured yeasts, sometimes allowing malolactic fermentation to occur. Levels of sulphur are kept to the barest minimum. (Charles Lea.)