Maison Foucher Sauvignon Blanc

2016 Maison Foucher “Les Jarriers”

Where: Touraine, France

Who: Jean Mounard

What: Sauvignon Blanc

Soil Type: Calcereous

Tastes like: Citrus peel and limestone, with white flowers in the nose.

What to pair with: Saucisson Lyonnaise, Rillette, delicate, gooey cheeses, Lecco pizza, Caesar

People:

Located 30 kilometers northeast of Sancerre in the village of Aligny-Cosne, Maison Foucher is a “Petit Négociant” with a mission to craft classic expressions of Loire Valley appellations at exceptional values. The estate was founded in 1921 by Paul Lebrun, a cooper by trade, who developed his company servicing a clientele made up of restaurants and cafés in the Loire Valley and Paris. During the 1950s, Paul's son-in-law Raymond Foucher took the reins and then in 1985 passed the baton to his son, Jacky Foucher.

In late 2009, with the aim of raising the company's image and developing overseas business, the Foucher family brought on Jean Mounard as a new partner to pave the road ahead. Jean spent many years at the helm of a fine and rare wine brokerage business in Paris, specializing in iconic estates such as DRC, Mouton-Rothchild and Leflaive. His first order of business was to pioneer the production of small batch wines from selected plots in Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé and Saumur-Champigny, some of which are now farmed organically. Given his deep experience tasting the great wines of the world as well as his many contacts among top producers in the Loire, Jean has been able to establish strong relationships with growers and significantly elevate the quality of the wines.

Place: Touraine, Loire Valley

Touraine is a wine district at the very heart of France's Loire Valley wine region. Its main commercial center, the city of Tours, sits precisely half-way between Sancerre and Nantes (the home of Muscadet). The district follows the Loire river for roughly 60 miles (100km), from Blois in the east to Chinon and Bourgueil in the west. Beyond this the river continues into the adjacent Anjou district.

Touraine has its own generic regional appellation (simply called Touraine) which covers the entire district, as well as several titles that are more specific in terms of both location and wine style. These range from the dry, fruity reds of Saint-Nicolas de Bourgueil to the diverse whites of Vouvray and Montlouis.

The Touraine district is located a full 140 miles (226km) from the Atlantic Ocean, and the same from the northern Massif Central hills of central France. As a result, the climate here falls somewhere between maritime and continental. There is a noticeable difference, however, between the cold, drier winters in the district's eastern edge and those in the west, which tend to be slightly wetter and more temperate. In summer, the slow-moving waters of the Loire do little to cool the Touraine vineyards; this region is known for its hot, torpid summer days.  Throughout the Touraine, the better vineyard sites are those blessed with free-draining soils rich in tuffeau. Tuffeau is the calcareous (limestone) rock for which this part of the Loire Valley is famous. It was used as the building material for most the valley's famous chateaux, and tuffeau caves proved perfect for long-term wine storage and ageing.

Grape: Sauvignon Blanc

Sauvignon Blanc probably originated in Bordeaux, but it is in the limestone soil of theCentre-Loire, that it shows its best, most characteristic qualities. Although widely planted the world over, and highly successful in such widely different climates as California, New Zealand and Chile, all Sauvignon Blanc aspires to standards set in the Centre-Loire. The climate here is too cold for later-ripening grapes (such as the Chenin Blanc) but Sauvignon Blanc buds late and ripens early, making it ideal for a region prone to severe frosts and harsh winds. Sauvignon Blanc is rarely blended with other grapes in the Loire Valley and it is responsible for the distinctive characters of Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé, Reuilly, Menetou-Salon, Quincy and Touraine Blanc..

Much Sauvignon Blanc is made for early drinking. With their distinctive aroma, which reminds some people of gooseberries or grapefruit, and their lively acidity, these are ideal wines to drink with the famous goat cheeses of the Loire Valley (Crottin de Chavignol comes from the same village as Sancerre), cold shrimp or lobster, or a summer picnic. Nonetheless, the high acidity of Sauvignon Blanc means that the wines can be kept, and producers have experimented with aging exceptionally ripe vintages in oak. With time, they develop a remarkably fragrant complexity that makes them seem almost sweet, better paired with aged cheeses or foie gras.