Christian Thirot-Fournier Sancerre 2017

In honour of International Sauvignon Blanc Day, which I missed yesterday, here is a sneaky Sav Blanc that I tried on a recent holiday in the UK. It was at a Warner Leisure Hotel whose wines are usually mid range designed for the British palette. So I have no idea if this is the best example of a French Sauvignon Blanc, or Sancerre as they call it, but it was the only example I had access to at the time.

I wanted to try a Sancerre because it’s been a while since I drank one. All the Sav Blancs I drink have been from New Zealand who dominate the UK market. Many wine experts describe Sav Blanc wines that taste of gooseberry and herbs. I personally feel the New Zealand ones taste of grapefruit and pomelo, so when I saw the Sancerre I thought I’d see if the Loire Vally wines were more gooseberry like.

I was unable to see the colour of the wine in the dim lighting in the restaurant, but it had a light scent of white fruit and green grapes with some tropical hints. It made me think of a fruit salad of green grape, cantaloupe melon and conference pear. No one scent dominated but it was those types of fruits.

In taste however I definitely got the gooseberry which is a bit sharper and more acrid than grapefruit. It also tasted of white fruit, mainly green grape and maybe a but mineral. Still no herbs though.

This is a dry white with high acidity, a light plus body and the gooseberry lingers a bit. It is a refreshing wine but the acidity reigns and I would have preferred the white fruit flavours to express a bit more.