I’ve been drinking a lot of Lucien Crochet (le Chene, in particular) kind of as my go-to Sancerre. Prices here have seemed to edge up enough lately (hi 20’-30), and while not too bad, I go through a lot of it. I’ve started to look for a slightly more reasonable alternative that I can quaff by the case while at the beach this summer.
Anyone have suggestions for a reasonably priced Sancerre?
I find $15ish range Touraine beats a $15ish Sancerre pretty much every day of the week. May not get that streak of minerality, but the quality of juice coming from some of the smaller producers can be exceptional. YMMV
Like Matty, my suggestion is to try a different grape. I’m a fan of Muscadet as a go-to white.
Like Matthew, I suggest you try a different wine from the same grape.
2011 Haut-Poitou from Domaine de Brizay, at $12.99, is the finest everyday ‘Sancerre’ I’ve ever tasted. ![[cheers.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/0/0ff9bfcdb0964982cd3240b6159868fbdf215b1a.gif "cheers"){kind=small}
http://terrisson-wines.com/m_catalogue/pdf.php?id_article=176
EDIT: Another excellent choice would be 2010 or 2011 Menetou-Salon from Domaine de Chatenoy - well under $20.
Actually, the Touraines I’m thinking of are still Sauv Blanc based (some SB/Chard blends and Cour-Cheverny as well, but mostly varietal). Been seeing lots more small estate producers releasing their own stuff instead of selling to co-ops, and if you’re close to the importer source they can be steals. PIMP ALERT: I do sell this one, but as an example http://domainericard.com/mon-vin.html
Stick to sports threads, bro 
(Abuse directed towards Arsenal supporter(s) only…)
This isn’t the only white I stock up on, just one I always enjoy, and is popular with the crowd that congregates at my Fire Island house every summer.
Outside of a Granit Clisson, I’ve never been able to appreciate muscadets. While slurping some oysters, yes, otherwise they leave me kinda flat.
Thanks for the reccos, gentlemen!
Menetou and Quincy are great off-Broadway alternatives to Sancerre, and tend to keep more of a mineral streak to them. Good call.
The Haut-Poitou is full of rocks, too.
EDIT: Yet another good choice around $20 would be the 2011 Pouilly-Fume ‘Cuvee Silice’ from Francis Blanchet.
http://www.skurnikwines.com/wines.cgi?rm=view_detail&wine_id=19680
We are in Sancerre every year and buy from H Bourgeois, A Mellot, Thomas-Labaille, Vacheron but our ‘house’ Sancerre we get from Andre Dezat which if it is available where you live should be around 20$. Our other ‘house’ Sancerre is Henri Bourgeois’s Les Baronnes although our favourite Bourgeois Sancerres [irrc he has over 10] are La Bourgeoise, Le MD, Jadis and d’Antan although these latter cuvees do not fall into our category of ‘house’ wines.
Thomas-Labaille’s L’Authentique Sancerre might fit your bill too.
Another of our ‘house’ Sauvignon Blancs is the Touraine cuvee Justine from Domaine des Corbillieres [the Barbou family at Oisly]. This is raised in oak but they also do a [slightly lower-priced] unoaked version called Fabel. I don’t know whether these names are used for their US exports but I think Domaine des Corbillieres was one of the first Touraine [as opposed to Sancerre and Pouilly Fume] SBs exported to the USA.
I just wrote in another post that I tried Ampelidae wines located in Marigny Brizay. Highly recommended. This is technically Haut Poitou but Frederic Brochet declined the AOC for the Val de Loire appellation. I tried Marigny Neuf sauvignon blanc, Fie Gris which is sauvignon rose and Le S (sauvignon blanc). Here is a link for pictures http://www.wines-travel.com/tasted-ampelidae/
These wines are a really good alternative to Sancerre.
and by the way I went to Guiberteau yesterday in Saumur area and had a great tasting of the entire range including Breze and Carmes on several vintages. Another great Chenin producer.
Clos Roche Blanche SB. That’s all.
I’ll agree that other appellations offer better value: Menetou-Salon, Quincy, Reuilly. Rosenthal brings in a few that are worth checking out.
For Sancerre, I kind of see the least expensive offerings from Lucien Crochet and Claude Riffault as the entry level to something of good quality. I’ve seen almost nothing that retails under $20 these days, and nothing there that is as good as some from those other AC’s in the high teens.
As much as I usually apply the sshhh rule here, yes.
Salvard Unique Is pretty good for the $13 or so it goes for even though it has a stupid name.
I really like Sancerre but our prices are always in the mid 20’s. For a house wine, Menetou-Salon(introduced to me by Bob Fleming) and Muscadet are the best to me at the $15. If you are stuck on Sancerre, Lucien Crochet or Vacheron are pretty nice at a good price point.
Thanks everyone. I’m going to go shopping for some of the suggestions. I’ll let you know how it goes!
I was going to suggest Vacheron, until I looked at pricing and see it’s now up at $30 too. BTW, do you have any of the 2010 Crochet Cul de Beaujeu? If so, enjoy!
I’ve never had it, no. I guess it’s worth hunting down?
Francois Chidaine Touraine. 100% Sauvignon. Under $15, probably closer to $10.