2022 Paul Prieur & Fils, La Pitaude, Sancerre, Loire Valley, FR

Luc Prieur is the eleventh generation of his family to make wines in the village of Verdigny in Sancerre. Luc works alongside his father Paul and his children—three generations in the vines at the same time. They have terroirs encompassing all the great soils and vineyards of Sancerre. In 2010, they acquired a pneumatic press for extremely gentle slow pressings of the grapes. They can completely isolate the grapes from oxygen during press, which makes the flavors and aromas so vivid. Luc creates wines of transparent terroir and vintage through careful, hands-on work in the vineyards and the cellars. Their vineyards are certified organic and harvest is done by hand. Fermentations are allowed to proceed as naturally as possible with all of the whites aging on their lees in neutral oak with no batonage. Their holdings encompass 13.5 hectares of sauvignon blanc over several south-facing, sloping parcels in the commune of Verdigny. Their soils are a mix of pure limestone, called Caillottes in the region, and a mix of limestone and clay called Terres-Blanches. The remainder of their fruit is on Silex soils which add the characteristic gun-flint note of Sancerre. These are wines that have all the aromatic wonder we love sauvignon blanc for connected to the energy and gun flint smokiness that takes good Sancerre to those dizzying highs.  La Pitaude is made up of Kimmeridgian and Terres Blanches soils in the commune of Verdigny (very similar to that of the Monts Damnés vineyard). The site has extremely old vines that yield small, incredibly concentrated berries. The wines from these vines are like spells.