Lucien Crochet : Le Chêne Marchand 2021

Characteristics and Tasting Notes for Chêne Marchand 2021 by Lucien Crochet

Tasting Notes

Appearance
This wine boasts a beautiful yellow hue, enhanced by delicate golden highlights.

Nose
Wonderfully complex, the aromatic bouquet weaves together candied fruit notes reminiscent of fresh fig and rhubarb, alongside indulgent pastry nuances evoking lemon meringue tart. The whole is underpinned by a deep, chalky, iodized minerality.

Palate
The attack is smooth, giving way to a crisp, enveloping palate. The tangy structure, carried by an iodized, chalky minerality, echoes the delicious fig and rhubarb notes perceived on the nose, offering a perfectly balanced framework.

Food and Wine Pairing

This white wine will pair wonderfully with seafood risotto, Burgundy snails with garlic and parsley, or pan-seared foie gras. More generally, it will make an ideal companion to seafood dishes or rich, textured starters.

Serving and Cellaring

The Chêne Marchand 2021 shows great potential for evolution and can be enjoyed until around 2031.

The Pure, Mineral Expression of a Sancerre White Wine

The Estate

The history of the Lucien Crochet estate truly began in the early 1950s, when it was created following the merger of the André Crochet and Lucien Picard vineyards. The latter was, in fact, a pioneer of estate bottling for the Parisian market. Located in Bué, France, at the heart of the Loire region, this essential reference today spans 35 hectares. Now led by the third generation, embodied by Gilles and Laurence Crochet, the estate stands out for its respectful approach to terroir and the precision of its cuvées.

The Vineyard

Sourced from an emblematic lieu-dit in the commune of Bué, within the Sancerre appellation, this wine comes from mid-slope plots situated between 240 and 260 meters in altitude. The vines benefit from varied exposures (south, southeast, and southwest) and thrive on shallow, well-drained Upper Oxfordian limestone soils, locally known as "caillottes." The vineyard is managed with a high planting density, pruned using the Guyot Poussard method, and cultivated according to the principles of sustainable farming, with the addition of organic amendments.

Winemaking and Aging

Following manual harvesting, the whole clusters destined for Chêne Marchand 2021 are gently pressed using a pneumatic press. The juices undergo cold settling for approximately 36 hours before fermenting for 25 to 30 days in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks, with a small proportion—5%—aged in oak barrels. The wine is then aged on total lees for 10 months. Following racking and blending carried out in July 2022, this white Sancerre wine continues its maturation on fine lees for an additional 9 months before being bottled in April 2023.

Grape Variety

100% Sauvignon Blanc