90pts Vinous

The 2024 Sancerre Mosaïque Calcaire is round and becoming, but tightens up on the finish with a nervy acidity. Citrus and nectarine fruit combine with a very delicate pastry note. Long maturation has given the 2024 flesh around its acid-fresh spine, which bodes well for its development over the coming years. This is a nice surprise considering the difficulties of the vintage.

Tasting Notes

The Sancerre named Mosaïque Calcaire is an aromatic, light-coloured and pleasantly citrusy wine. This year it is more powerful and less yellow-fruity than last year. Instead, it is reminiscent of cedrat lemons and a little lime zest, grapefruit and pineapple rind, white flowers and a little damp lichen on wet rock.

On the palate, the Sancerre a lot of fun. I also like Riffault's more opulent vintages, but this one is also racy, powerful, citric and stony on the palate. There are hardly any expressive Sauvignon notes here, neither grassy nor exotic. It is a rock wine with a tight structure, lively acidity, freshness and finesse.

Food Pairing: Carpaccio of yellow and green courgettes with young olive oil and fresh peas, Grilled fennel and carrots with goat's milk yoghurt labneh and mint, Fettuccine with smoked sardines, lemon, capers and pepper

Winemaker's Notes

This is the estate's entry-level Sancerre, which since the 2022 vintage has been Calcaire Mosaïque is called. It comes mainly from the limestone-dominated sites such as Les Boucauds, Les Chasseignes and Les Denisottes with Terres Blanches and Caillottes. The wine was fermented spontaneously in stainless steel and then aged partly in stainless steel and partly in used larger wood for seven months.

Winery Notes

Stéphane Riffault (Claude’s son and now the owner of the estate) is turning out Sancerre
bottlings that are the envy of many producers twice his age. As David Schildknecht put
it, “Make no mistake: this address in the hamlet of Maison Salle (Sury-en-Vaux) is
now one of the five or six most exciting estates in the Sancerre appellation.” Given that
Stephane’s holdings represent 4-tenths of 1 percent of the appellation, he is clearly
doing something right.

Based in the village of Sury-en-Vaux, Stéphane Riffault works 33 different parcels in 8
different lieu-dits spread across four villages. The 13.5 hectares of vines are plowed, and
no synthetic material is used. Starting in 2017, the property has been certified organic
by ECOCERT and biodynamic by BIODYVIN. Unlike most Sancerre producers, the
entire harvest is carried out by hand, and extensive sorting occurs before the grapes are
crushed. Stéphane’s wife, Benedicte, leads the harvest team while Stéphane manages
the sorting and press during harvest.

Most of the domaine’s holdings are planted on the soft limestone soil called terres
blanches, with some parcels on calliottes and silex. Minor, judicious uses of oak help to
add length to the already precise, site-expressive, and vertical bottlings. All the parcels
are vinified separately, and except for the rosé, all the wines are bottled unfiltered.
Having studied and worked in Burgundy (and closely with Olivier Leflaive), it’s easy to
see the Burgundian influence in Stéphane’s wines. The mastery of minerality standing
shoulder–height with the wood is rarely duplicated in Sancerre. Regardless of his
parcels’ exposition (many are south-facing), Riffault’s wines are always crisp and highcut with a jeweled delineation that speaks to the precision and attention these wines
get. These are not your daddy’s (or his daddy, Claude’s) Sancerres.