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Photographed by Jim Randall

   Clad in rubber wellies and shorts our winemaker had, literally, just finished picking his sauvignon blanc grapes. He offered us a cluster to taste and, sure enough, they were pretty ripe, but still had enough acidity to distinguish it from the fat sugar-water grapes that we tend to munch from our fruit bowls.
   Our host had taken the winery over from his retired father-in-law, the much respected, Claude Thomas Labaille. His excellent, zippy Sancerre wines are made from vines that are grown on the Monts
He offered us a cluster to taste and, sure enough, they were pretty ripe, but still had enough acidity to distinguish it from the fat sugar-water grapes that we tend to munch from our fruit bowls
Damnés plot, a steep slope that does not allow for mechanization, hence all the work, including grape-picking, is done by hand.
   We tasted two of his 2002 sauvignons blancs—both are exported abroad but are hard to find. The small production Sancerre Monts Damnés is made from 45-year-old vines. It is perfectly balanced between fruit and acidity, showing hints of meyer lemon, grapefruit, and acacia flowers, all encased in a good dose of mineral.
   His Sancerre Monts Damnés Cuvée Buster is an even smaller production wine at just 600 bottles. This wine is named after New York wine importers Louis/Dressner’s dear dog Buster. The adorable part-pit bull and part-Welsh cardigan corgi’s mug peeks at you from a label around the neck of the bottle and the contents of the wine are just as sweet as the pup. This wine is made from the best plot of the Monts Damnés vineyard, fermented for nine months in new-ish oak barrels (two to three years old) in order to produce a richer wine (though by no means an over-oaked wine) that will age nicely. On tasting it one instantly notices that it is a fleshier wine with complex layers that evolve in the glass.
   Sancerre wines are usually made for early consumption but the great Sancerres from the likes of Labaille’s Cuvée Buster Sancerre and brothers François and Pascal Cotat (also in Chavignol) are definitely the kind of wines that one can sit on a for a decent amount of time.
   If you do not get the opportunity to visit any of these winemakers we suggest you step into the local restaurant, La Côte des Monts Damnés, for dinner. The restaurant serves incredible food and has a great wine list featuring old vintages. The food here is creatively classical with modern touches. Many of the dishes are peppered with the local goats’ cheeses, like the tagliatelle de crottin au beurre muscade, a sumptuous dish that was essentially a creamy pyramid of warm aged Crottin de Chavignol wrapped in tagliatelle pasta and sitting in the most delicious butter sauce that was somehow enlightened by the muscadet. Indulge all you can in the cheese while you are here by ordering Crottin de Chavignol for the pre-dessert fromage course. A local AOC speciality, this full-fat goats’ cheese is tangy when young and creamier when old. The slightly funky older ones are great with a few slices of fresh bread at the end of a meal, accompanied by a golden rich old-vintage Sancerre.
   After we were suitably satiated we carried ourselves back to the town and took another lazy stroll around the square to take in the scenic view by night. Our only regret of Sancerre is that we did not spend enough time there because it is a stunning picture-perfect region and Chavignol is the kind of small French village that makes fast food joints and loud city life seem far, far away. •

Pameladevi Govinda is travel correspondent for Lucire.
 

MAIN PHOTOGRAPH: Another view in Sancerre on a blissful day. ABOVE, FROM TOP: Jean-Paul Labaille shows us his Sauvignon Blanc grapes. Jean-Paul Labaille and the author.

 

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