The late Dominique Belluard was a humble master of the Gringet (grahn-ZHAY) grape, a varietal which he quickly discovered was almost extinct outside of his family's land. Through his own vine nursery he created the largest selection of the grape perhaps in the world, and successfully made several monovarietal wines from the grape.

Domaine Dominique Belluard

Dominique's work carries on posthumously in the form of Domaine du Gringet

Sadly, we lost the great Dominique during the pandemic, bringing an unfortunate close to nearly 35 years at the helm of his family's estate. When he took over in 1988, the domaine was not entirely focused on grapes, with various crops and some dairy cows all part of the equation. Ever the student, Dominique chose to focus on the vines exclusively, and in particular in a native variety called Gringet.

As so many similarly thoughtful winemakers have done, Dominique chose to elevate the health of his vineyard with a focus on biodynamic methods; despite the cold (and close proximity to the Mont Blanc), he kept his vines trained close to the ground to grasp every last degree of warmth they could, despite the risk of mildew. The iron-rich soils absorbed a good amount of heat from the sun when it appeared, and his wines show ample ripeness.

Gringet, the grape that makes up nearly the entirety of his family land is unique - picture it somewhere between Sauvignon Blanc - the brightness, the green streak and tendency to produce honeyed flavors when ripe - and Chenin Blanc - the textural character, the way it shows lees-y flavors easily, and a bit of that lanolin hint. The structure is such that it should age well, particularly given the incredible attention to vineyard health, and some older examples show similar qualities to aged Chablis.

Perhaps what drew attention to the Belluard wines were the fine sparkling wines he crafted from 100% Gringet in the Champagne method. The wines spend about 2 years on the lees and have more than ample body, texture and expression. The still wines show both freshness and structure to age, and are generally made in vessels designed to suspend the lees so that batonnage is not needed, while the wines display the same texture as though batonnage had been performed, without tasting overtly of yeast.

It seems the domaine will stay in the family, with a new winemaker brought on who grasps the importance of tradition and carrying on the legacy; as such, the future bottlings will bear the name of Belluard's love child: Domaine de Gringet.

With two years on the lees, the Ayze Les Perles du Mont Blanc (2018) is reminiscent of fine Champagnes but with Gringet's trademark green streak, spice and citrus flavors. Monsieur Gringet is as texturally gripping as a top Chablis, with crystalline minerality and length to the finish. The 2020 Eponyme, a wine that was finished by Jean-Francois Ganevat, a close friend of the family, is entirely Gringet, a slightly riper wine, showcasing white fruits, pears and a delightful salty mineral touch. Les Alpes showcases the brilliant freshness of Gringet, with dried apricot, lime zest and a fleshier palate.

The Vacheron family has been influential in Sancerre since the turn of the century--from day one, this has always been a family operation. Great-grandfather Maurice Vacheron tended a few vines in the silex-rich soils of his hometown back when Sancerre was but a forlorn stop on a village road. His son, Jean Vacheron, was the first of the family to specialize in wine production. Moving from cultivating grain to Pinot Noir, Jean is one of the main reasons why the family's Pinot Noir bottlings are some of the finest in the region. Today his grandsons, Jean-Laurent and Jean-Dominique have propelled Vacheron to an even higher echelon, following a Burgundian methodology of vinifying and bottling select vineyards separately, creating an awe-inspiring range of every color of the Sancerre rainbow.

Domaine Vacheron

Sancerre is synonymous with Sauvignon Blanc, sure, but the Pinot Noir is incredibly special here. The Rosé is gulpable, yet thought-provoking, specks of flint and limestone adding spice and lift. “Belle Dame” is the equivalent of a Grand Cru in Sancerre, coming from 50-year-old vines in pure flint soils; riveting, silky and spicy akin to a great Burgundy. “Les Marnes” takes its name from the loamy, clay-rich soils, chock (chalk?)-full of seashell fossils more tightly-concentrated than most of the region. The result is a full-bodied red with fresh, bright red fruit.

Of the whites, "Les Romains" is the pick of the knowing collector, as it’s one of the first Sancerres grown on pure Silex (flinty) soils, generating intensity, depth and peerless complexity that is as age-worthy as any great White Burgundy. "Chambrates" is a younger vineyard planted to clay and limestone, delivering ripe citrus and floral flavors with a long, textural finish. "Le Paradis" is a funny name as it is a vineyard largely devoid of soil, just vines planted straight into chalk which luckily is porous enough to allow the roots to tunnel deep. Such situations generate great concentration yet brightness, and tiny yields; zesty citrus and spiced floral aromas are a nice complement to the brilliant streak of acid throughout. "Le Pavé" is a cooler site with limestone-clay soils, creating a more classic, clean and bright style of Sancerre. "L’Enclos des Remparts" is sourced from a younger plot of vines, incredibly unique as the vines are ungrafted, delivering incredibly pure flavors and showcasing the unique smoke and spice of flinty soils.

Vineyards, more so maybe than wine ran in Didier's family ...

Didier Fornerol

Several generations had farmed his land in the humble parts of the Cote de Nuits, but he didn't inherit the vines until after 16 years' time working alongside de Smet at L'Arlot, where he watched a master at work, creating sumptuous and soulful wines in a classic method.  Didier has applied all that knowledge to his family's wines: Says Noah, "This is truly masterful, whole-cluster winemaking - all the crunchy fruit, savory aromatics...I'm in awe"

He's applied all of his knowledge to his family's wines: Says Noah, "This is truly masterful, whole-cluster winemaking - all the crunchy fruit, savory aromatics...I'm in awe - maybe it's not appropriate to compare producers, but in Didier's wines I almost feel Jacques Seyesses' influence here." He drifts off as memories seep back in. "Actually, my first trip to Burgundy, we ended up at L'Arlot, tasting with de Smet, at which point L'Arlot was a hidden gem of sorts and it sank into my brain." Now those have blown straight up and his former mentee is the hidden gem. "I guess they aren't a true secret," Noah laments, "But they just aren't expensive. Maybe we're just lucky. I don't know. Drink 'em while you can!"

Didier has about 1.2 hectares total of white grapes, both Aligoté and Chardonnay. The white wines are fermented with minimal intervention, and the Bourgogne Blanc as well as the Cote de Nuits-Villages Blanc see about 20% new oak.

The reds typically have a great influence of whole-cluster fermentation, as Noah alluded to, and are all fermented in barrel - about 10% of which is new. Fornerol's plots are mostly in the Cote de Nuits-Villages. The Bourgogne Rouge , and is a beautiful intro to the range, red and dark-fruited with delicate spice. The Hautes-Cotes de Nuits-Villages has a more pronounced stony mineral tone, and is brighter as the elevation here is the highest of all his vineyards. There are two Cote de Nuits-Villages reds; the flagship wine comes from about 3.7 hectares of family land with about 40 year-old vines on average. Red- and dark-fruited, perfectly laced with minerals and subtle spice, and perfectly silky texture. The Rue des Foins comes from a nearby vineyard, but from a 0.5 hectare plot that Fornerol and de Smet found to consistently produce higher-quality fruit - expect a darker hue, more concentrated flavors, really just that extra notch more intensity.