About The Wine
It’s interesting to try wines from Saint-Bris compared to those Sauvignon Blanc appellations in the upper Loire River, because they are a geological match to much of Sancerre’s kimmeridgian limestone wine country known as Terres Blanches, located on the left bank (west side) of the Loire River to the north of the village.
A short twenty minute car ride toward the southwest from Chablis, and north of the Pinot Noir growing region, Irancy, Saint-Bris is a Burgundian outlier where Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Gris have been the recognized and permitted grape varieties since the establishment of the AOP in 2003. While it can be somewhat routine for experienced tasters to recognize the differences between Sancerre and Chablis, the differences between Sancerre and Saint-Bris presents a greater challenge—same grape, same general geology, similar climate. Perhaps the greatest element of difference is the wealth and prosperity of Sancerrois by comparison. Sadly, most of Saint-Bris is a virtual wasteland of chemical farming—not a surprising outcome for a wine that can rarely match even the price of a Petit Chablis AOC wine, even though it requires the same amount of effort to grow and produce. However, with the continuous rise in the price of Sancerre, when Romain Collet presented the opportunity to purchase some Saint-Bris he made from a well-run, sustainably farmed vineyard of his friend, we immediately jumped on it; he has developed a golden touch with white wine, so it was a no-brainer.
According to Romain, Sauvignon Blanc and Sauvignon Gris were already a regular part of what is today’s Saint-Bris appellation as early as the eighteenth century; also found there was Chardonnay, Aligoté and Pinot Noir. The limestone soils are particularly poor in Saint-Bris, compared to Chablis, and they’re well suited to stifle Sauvignon Blanc’s vigorous nature, whereas Chardonnay there would struggle because of too much stress.
Some years ago, I visited Saint-Bris in the early spring with Romain to better understand the appellation and to visit a friend of his who makes wine there on a very small scale. As we drove through, row after row of vines exposed the dreary farming conditions ubiquitous in the appellation—it was almost completely bare land without anything green in sight, except the vine shoots. There is at least one maker who works in organic and biodynamic culture, but few more, if even that.
Romain’s grapes come from a friend’s vineyard on a north-facing slope and are farmed using sustainable methods without the use of any herbicides or pesticides. With quality in mind, Romain treats the grapes with the same respect he does with his organically farmed Chablis wines. His vineyard team picks the grapes into small 20-kilo boxes and in the cellar they start their fermentations spontaneously, and aging is done in old French oak barrels, done to add a touch of roundness to soften the wine’s naturally striking acidity. The version of Saint-Bris at Domaine Jean Collet follows suit with the Chablis range, characterized with an increased level of suppleness, compared to what is typically found with Saint-Bris wines, so it lands stylistically closer to those grown in the upper Loire Valley.[cm_tooltip_parse] -TV [/cm_tooltip_parse]
