Vincent Gaudry - Le Tournebride 2018
Vincent Gaudry is an unusual vigneron. He left school at 16 years-old because studies weren’t his forte and began work at his father's domaine George Gaudry. By the time Vincent joined him in 1991 the estate had recently grown to 9.5 hectares, and when Vincent took over at the age of 18, he fell so violently ill following the spraying of a chemical treatment that he began to worry about their effects and decided to cease all chemical sprays – becoming one of the first to do so in Sancerre.
He took on a full-time employee to help work the expanded area of 9 hectares of white and 2 hectares of red. He initially converted to organic viticulture in 1995 and then progressed to biodynamics by 2002. His vineyards take in all three distinctive Sancerre terroirs: ‘Caillottes' for nose and perfume; ‘Terres Blanches' for structure and mouth-feel; and ‘Silex' for the wine's length and ageing potential.
Vincent's entry-level wine Tournebride is a blend of ‘Caillotes’ from Verdigny, ‘Terres Blanches’ from Sury-en-Vaux and ‘Silex’ from Saint-Satur from 6 to 40-year-old vines of Sauvignon Blanc. Vines are hand-harvested and aged in a mix of stainless steel, 6000 litres tronconique wooden cuves and older barrels. Natural yeasts are used for the fermentations, malolactique fermentation is not blocked and he carries out long ageing on fine lees before bottling with no fining, no filtration and minimal sulphur levels.
Grape variety: 100% Sauvignon Blanc