Expert summary:

The quality and balance of the attractive and consumer-friendly 2015s was evident, from established names and exciting young producers alike

Jim Budd has been a regular contributor to Decanter since 1989, and is the DWWA Regional Chair for the Loire 2015 IS A good and attractive vintage with plenty of ripe fruit, frequently showing white peach and grapefruit notes. It is likely to appeal to a larger number of consumers than the very good but more vibrant 2014 vintage, with its high levels of acidity. The difference is that 2015 was made by a good summer, whereas 2014 was saved by a hot, dry September after a poor summer.

Our tasting of 2015 Sancerre took place in late June and was reserved for finished wines, so the majority of the samples submitted were early-drinking cuvées, often from vines on the caillottes (limestone) soils. Most of the top wines – especially those from the terres blanches – will not be bottled until at least this autumn. Inevitably this is a partial view of the 2015 Sancerres, although the overall potential of the vintage is clear. Not surprisingly, a number of the 2015s need more time in bottle to show their best. It is easy to forget that top Sancerre comfortably ages for 15 to 20 years or more.

Our top wine, Les Perrois from the very talented François Crochet, comes from vines planted on the caillottes, and is always the first of the Crochet cuvées to be bottled. Other wines from caillottes include Vincent Pinard’s Flores, Henri Bourgeois’ La Vigne Blanche and Le Chêne Marchand from Joël and Sylvie Cirotte.

Among the Highly Commended wines there is an interesting mix of well-known producers such as Serge Laloue, Vacheron, Claude Riffault, Joseph Mellot, Pascal Jolivet and Jean-Max Roger, along with less well-known names. Indeed, our second-favourite wine comes from Anthony Girard, a young vigneron who only started his own domaine – La Clef du Récit – in the southern part of the appellation in the commune of Vinon in 2012. It is also exciting to see fine young producers such as Pierre Martin, Matthieu Delaporte (Domaine Delaporte) and Luc Prieur (Domaine Paul Prieur) coming to the fore.

The timing of our tasting also explains why there were only four wines that had any contact with oak. Although the vast majority of Sancerre is fermented and matured in stainless steel tanks, many of the leading producers use oak for their top cuvées. Oak vats of around 12hl from companies such as Stockinger are increasingly popular.

‘This is a partial view of the 2015 Sancerres, although the overall potential of the vintage is clear’