Tasting 2023 Sancerre from Joseph Mellot and Chateau de Thauvenay

Can you find a more crowd-pleasing summertime wine than Sancerre? Made from 100% sauvignon blanc in the Loire Valley of France, these white wines are invariably crisp and fruity — though, as we’ll see in this review of two 2023 releases — the style can be quite variable.

2023 Joseph Mellot La Chatellenie Sancerre – From a winemaking empire that dates back to 1513. That said, as of the 2023 vintage this wine is surprisingly tropical, and you could easily be forgiven for assuming this was a New Zealand sauvignon blanc. Big pineapple notes pair with crushed almonds to give the wine a tiki vibe. Quite sweet, but as it develops notes of lime leaf bring in a stronger citrus quality, fading into lime zest as the finish builds and then fades over a long while. Hints of coconut throughout do nothing to convince me this was made in France. B+ / $43

2023 Chateau de Thauvenay Sancerre – From Hubert Brochard. An outstanding expression of Sancerre that drinks exactly as you hope and expect it to. Crisp notes of melon and lemon are undercut by light lacings of pineapple — nothing like the powerfully tropical character the Mellot features — offering licks of sweetness to counterbalance any overt acidity in the mix. Herbaceous notes are very gentle, merely hinted at, while the finish sings with a squeeze of orangey citrus. A delight for the summer. A / $45

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