TNs: 2018 Henri Bourgeois Sancerre “Les Baronnes” <=> 2018 Henri Bourgeois Quincy “Haute Victoire”

We like Sancerre generally and have enjoyed previous vintages of “Les Baronnes” such that it currently has “in the rotation” status. We wanted to give the 2018 bottling a test drive. We have had less luck with Quincy, although we want to like it because it shares the name of the city where I was born and grew up – Quincy, MA (a bit gimmicky I know). Prompted by a recent review of different Quincy wine by Dan Kravitz and by a recommendation of this specific bottling by Ilkaa, I ran down a bottle of Bourgeois’ 2018 Quincy “Haute Victoire” sitting next to their “Les Baronnes” on a shelf at a Quincy, MA wine store. They said they sell a “ton” of the Quincy because of the city name connection (gimmicky is apparently very popular with some people). I thought it might be interesting to do a side-by-side tasting of these two Sauvignon Blanc.
“Shelf-to-table” wine drinking. . .

The first little surprise was that the Sancerre was under screwcap and the Quincy had a cork. We poured a small glass of each to start and over the course of an hour or so had two more small glasses of each. We alternated tastes of both wines as we leisurely attacked a cheese plate. The initial impression of the Sancerre was that it had a bit of an unpleasant energetic bite to it, while the Quincy introduced itself as softly fruity. As the wines opened up in the glass and the opened bottles, their tastes moved towards one another. The Sancerre lost its initial bite, gained some citrus fruit, but it seemed to end on a bitter note. The Quincy opened up its fruit a bit more with both citrus and a sweeter/softer fruit component. It gained a little energy at least in comparison to the Sancerre losing some of its initial burst. As we finished our third glasses and the cheese plate, we both nodded at each other in agreement.

Judges’ Decision
As another little surprise I found the two wines notably different stylistically. Contrary to what I thought it might be, I would not call the Quincy a “baby” Sancerre. It has a different taste profile although with some overlap to Sancerre and obviously 100% Sauvignon Blanc from nearby regions and the same producer. The Quincy is softer and smoother in the case of these two 2018’s. Those who believe in terroir might point to the different soil in the two regions. My wife and I both agreed that the Quincy was the better wine for our tastes tonight. We might get a few bottles of the Quincy, but will likely pass on the 2018 Les Baronnes.

Neat! I don’t doubt at all that when tasted side by side the differences between the two become more obvious than they might seem if enjoyed separately. However there is also the fact that quite a large spectrum of styles for Sancerre exists and I think that bottlings like Les Baronnes are definitely on the sharper, more tangy and steely end of it. I don’t really drink that style much myself but instead wines that show a bit more ripeness, lees contact and often even the airiness that comes from ageing in neutral wood. I think the Haute Victoire has a more relaxed feel to it than many Sancerres that see only steel, which I found a positive. In any case, I am happy to hear that you enjoyed the wine

The most pressing question I have is whether anyone in that town uses a very exaggerated accent while using the French pronunciation of Quincy when they buy it.

Ha!! Sean, the young man in the wine store actually gave the French pronunciation a go. He didn’t quite get there with KAN-ZAY, but points for the effort.

P.S. Jim’s guide to pronouncing Quincy:
-Quincy, MA KWIN-zee
-Quincy, IL KWIN-see
-Quincy, FR KAN-ZEE

QUINCY, MA was the birthplace of two presidents of the United States.

I’m just picturing Mayor Quimby of the Simpsons, noted Massachusetts resident, trying to say it.

The Les Baronnes is a staple of LCBO stores up here. I like it and it represents pretty good value and typicity but do find it’s quite vintage dependent.

Gonna add another postscript to this TN . . .

Not the first time this has happened and I relearn to not judge a wine when you serve it with something that does not allow it to show its stuff. Had some of the Sancerre and Quincy leftover so tasted them again with our lunch of local Chatham Oysters. OK, maybe not the ideal season for Oysters, but these were briny delights. The Quincy wine was decent with them, but the Sancerre hit Julie Andrews levels (aka singing!). Wow! Apparently, I am more of a novice on wine pairings than even my humble self admits. Or at the least, I am a G.D. wine flip-flopper.