Domaine Vincent Gaudry - Sancerre 'À Mi-Chemin' 2021 (750ml)
Price: $274.99
| Producer | Domaine Vincent Gaudry |
| Country | France |
| Region | Loire Valley |
| Varietal | Sauvignon Blanc |
| Vintage | 2021 |
| Sku | 200907 |
| Size | 750ml |
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Domaine Vincent Gaudry Description
For those in the know, Vincent Gaudry has been handcrafting some of the most essential, soulful wines of the Loire River Valley for over 30 years in his craftsman cellar in the tiny hamlet of Chambre near Sury-en-Vaux, Sancerre. Vincent is a true minimalist whose guiding principle is “Trust in Nature.” The domaine was established by Vincent’s grandfather, and Vincent was only 16 years old when he joined his father in the family business in 1991.
Gaudry wines are in tune with the elements, instilling a feeling of being profoundly connected to the land. Driven by his deep respect for the wisdom of past generations of local vignerons, Gaudry’s wines are inspired by history and, as a result, are among the most transparent, soulful, and authentic in the region. They are also amongst the most limited, due to his artisanal scale.
Gaudry’s vineyards are planted on all three predominant Sancerre terroirs:
• silex (flinty soils offering structure, length, and lift)
• terres blanches (Kimmeridgian clay-limestone marl, providing mouthfeel)
• caillottes (hard, weathered Oxfordian limestone giving nose and aromatics)
À Mi-Chemin was the first of Vincent’s duo of top, singular cuvées (Pour Vous being the second). Without hyperbole, both expressions blur the line between wine and art. À Mi-Chemin follows the tradition of the past century of vinification and aging in wood barrels for two years before bottling, as well as the methods Vincent learned from local village elders over the years. It is a deeply unique and personal “unicorn” wine, made only in the best vintages, when it is always among the most profound white wines produced in France’s Loire Valley.
À Mi-Chemin is the oldest 0.5ha part at the top of the lieu-dit Les Bouloises, a 35+ year-old vineyard with a perfect southwest exposed slope just under the woods, planted in dense, heavy, ferrous Silex soils near the village of Saint-Satur, at 350m. At the top of this parcel there is an optical illusion where Vincent feels like he could reach out and touch the village of Sancerre (just 2km away) and the burnt-red silex reflects the shimmering afternoon light in a way that makes him feel like he is halfway to paradise, or “à mi-chemin”.
The Les Bouloises parcel for À Mi-Chemin is hand-harvested and vinified separately each year, and then after aging in 60-hectoliter used French foudre for a year, Vincent tastes the wine, studying its energy, power, and emotional resonance. If the vintage speaks to him, À Mi-Chemin spends another year on its fine lees in a used, 60-hectoliter French foudre without bâtonnage, before being bottled by hand in tiny quantities directly from barrel, without fining or filtration with a traditional copper spout by a method called “mis à la chèvre.” If the conditions of the vintage are not perfect in every way to produce the energy Vincent is looking for to make À Mi-Chemin, the barrel is blended into his primary cuvée Tournebride.
Ever the quintessential craftsman in every level of his work, Vincent is equally dedicated to ensuring the safe voyage of his wines through an investment in the best corks in the market to seal his bottles. Vincent’s corks come from an artisan producer on the island of Sardinia. The corks are natural, produced without the use of chemical treatments or glues, and are aged for 13 years. The resulting corks, which are exceptionally dense and strong, are checked by machine and guaranteed against defects like cork taint.
Stylistically, À Mi-Chemin is full-bodied, fresh, and refined on the palate, offering incredible complexity—a long and elegant Sancerre that offers contrasting textures of richness with finesse, grip and elegance. À Mi-Chemin is built to improve in bottle, offering many years of development and pleasure when properly cellared—Vincent’s gift to you from “the valley that smiles” in Sancerre.
Vinous: 95 Points
A total firecracker of a wine, the 2021 A Mi-Chemin has snap and energy. There's a real firmness and flinty ferocity that comes from this site. While it's barrel fermented, the barrels are 20 years old, so don't expect woody flavors. Instead, this is direct and pure with precise flavors of dill, blackcurrant, spice and a mineral twang. While it might bop you in the face, it positively oozes on the long finish.
