Sincere SANCERRE

A focus on terroir has raised the white wines of this special part of the Loire valley to new heights

- BEVERLEY BLANNING MW

The sign nailed to the wall outside François Cotat’s cellar looks pretty permanent: Fermé. But soon enough, the man himself comes out to greet me. ‘I hope you're not going to write about me,’ he says, shaking my hand. ‘I get too many visitors as it is.’

His comment is a sign of the times. Interest in Sancerre has never been greater. And there’s a reason why wine buyers are beating a path to the doors of the best growers: the top wines of Sancerre now rival some of the finest whites in France.

The wine equivalent of the Little Black Dress, Sancerre is an understated French classic that has never gone out of fashion. Its popularity is understandable. Fresh, fruity and affordable, it’s the perennial favourite of Parisian bistros and one of those rare French wines that anglophone tourists can order with a reasonable hope of being understood.

It’s also an excellent traveller, and most is drunk outside France (about 60% of wine from Sancerre is exported, with about half of that going to the US). Sancerre has, in recent years, become the go-to white for many wine lovers, especially in the US. Jon-David Headrick, an American importer who specialises in Loire wines, says: ‘Sancerre has become the de facto shorthand for “a good French wine” in the American imagination, with its reputation often eclipsing even the specifics of grape variety or origin.’

Tourist draw

The appellation is centred on the hilltop village of Sancerre. Considered to be one of the most beautiful villages in France, with its medieval jumble of narrow streets and picture-postcard vineyard views in all directions, it has long been a popular destination for wine tourists thanks to its relative proximity to the capital.