93pts Vinous

Still undergoing its élevage in wood, the 2023 Les Denisottes has surprising freshness akin to a shot of caffeine. It may not be as concentrated or rich as the 2022, but this wine shows promise. It positively sings like a soprano, clear and pure with energy and drive.

About the Wine

Les Denisottes comes from a parcel located quite close to the domaine’s cellar. Here the terres blanches soils are deeper and more pebbly than rocky and producing a richer style of Sancerre – one that requires a longer élevage in barrel, and released with a greater capacity to age.

About the Winery

Domaine Claude Riffault, which has been family-owned and run for five generations, is now in the hands of Claude’s son Stéphane who is working the soil in a much more organic fashion than his father. Chemical herbicides are no longer used on the parcels and there is a heavy weed cover in most of the parcels. The family owns 33 different (and quite small) plots on steep hillsides in four different villages. Part of the vineyard is made up of limestone soil which produces while vines with great fruit and explosive aromas. They also own a smaller amount of vines on flint soil which produces wines of incredible minerality and precision. The vines are ll vinified by plot and by soil type before some are assembled to make a small number of bottlings.