2024 Sancerre: The Bad, the Good, and the Beautiful
Lucien Reymond
April 18, 2025
The Bad
A double whammy for the vineyards of the Loire Valley and especially Sancerre in 2024. Mildew and grape shatter reduced the harvest by a third. Lower quantities mean higher prices.
On the economic front a triple whammy for us.
The dollar is dropping like a stone and has lost over 10% of its value in the last few months.
You might have heard that tariffs of at least 10% have been imposed on wines from France and the rest of the European Union
Sancerre has become very popular, which has already driving higher prices.
One importer told me that they have to increase the price of the 2024 vintage of their popular brand of Sancerre by 18%.
The Good
Smaller harvests can mean more concentration and richer wines
An enterprising importer has just gotten a limited supply of Sancerre that they squeaked in just before the tariff went into effect, and whose producer had adjusted his prices to compensate for the difficulties of the dollar. We are getting some of that and can offer it at the same price as last year's.
The Beautiful
When managed by a talented winemaker, the wine from smaller harvests is not just thicker but also more flavorful and complex.
Lucien Reymond, whose wines we have offered for a few vintages now, is just that sort of winemaker.
I tasted his 2024 yesterday. It is his best wine yet. It is savory, rich, complex, and heady in its affect. It is very, very good; much richer, denser, and more concentrated than many more expensive 2023s I have tasted. Its combination of good acidity and ripe, savory sauvignon fruit makes it exceptional.
We are buying as much as we can. If you love Sancerre or Sauvignon Blanc, you might also. In this market, it will not last very long.
2024 Lucien Reymond Sancerre
What Makes it Special: flavor, concentration, price.
Aroma: Savory a touch of earth, crisp, with an exotic note of lime peel; Mouth: bright light lime very fleshy without too much weight, appetizing and inviting, very long; Very Good - Excellent
$32; Case, $26.99
Arrives Monday
Len Rothenberg
FREE DELIVERY!
downtown on orders more than $75;
in Greater Boston on orders more than $199
