I recently came across an article by Forbes titled “Sancerre: The World’s Greatest White Wine?” I was intrigued by the title so I took a deeper dive. It contained interesting facts about some of the most iconic white grapes in the world, eventually concluding with a sentence that I would shout: “I'll nominate Sauvignon Blanc as arguably the world's greatest white grape, for its richness, herbal notes, complexity, minerality and aging potential.”
To be completely honest, Sauvignon Blanc is my go-to white grape whenever I’m craving a friendly, fresh, and lovely white wine, but Sancerre is even more than that. Sancerre is, (and I'm going to quote Wine Spectator on this one) “home to some of France's tangiest, most thirst-quenching white wines.” Today’s offer, the 2020 Domaine Jean-Paul Balland Sancerre is the perfect example of that.
This offer is Sancerre-ly the most amazing aperitif wine I’ve tasted! (see that I did there? 😏 ). The first time I introduced this style of wine to my family, the 2020 Jean-Paul Sancerre was the bottle that we opened that day and there couldn't have been a more perfect way to start that delightful evening.
I assure you that this wine is not only appealing and beautiful but also comes with a fascinating and long history behind the label. The Balland family winemaking roots go back to the 17th century, but it wasn't until the early 80s that Jean-Paul blazed his own trail eventually producing wine under his own name.
2020 was a remarkable year for Domaine Jean-Paul Balland. First, because it was the first 100% organic and sustainable year for the winery, and second, because 2020 was a spectacular year in the Loire Valley. Decanter magazine tells us, "In 2020 there are successes along the whole of the Loire." and that, "Well-balanced 2020 dry whites should age very well, for at least 10-15 years." This is definitely one vintage you don't want to miss!
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