Tuscan Sauvignon Blanc?! Almost Chablis Pinot Noir?!
I love finding unusual, unexpected wines from regions that are off the radar. In my last post, I wrote about a sparkling Chenin Blanc from Clarksburg and I've also sold wines from Itata and Tasmania, Gamay and Viognier from New Zealand, even from Switzerland.
Here's another surprise to add to the list: Sauvignon Blanc from Tuscany. Sesti is one of my favorite Brunello di Montalcino producers, making measured, finessed, ageworthy wines. Brunello is of course Sangiovese, made in the village of Montalcino which gets a littler warmer than Chianti to the north but with a cooling influence from the Tyrrhenian Sea. I visited a few years ago: the Sesti property is one of a kind. Giuseppe Sesti bought it in the 1970s and he and his Cornish wife had to hack their way through blackberries to get inside to discover a rundown castle and several outbuildings hidden by all the vegetation.
Giuseppe had a degree in lunar cycles, and all the viticulture, once the vines were planted, was based on the phases of the moon. That may sound like biodynamics, but he didn't feel biodynamics went far enough and lacked a scientific understanding of how the moon affects growing conditions. That might seem excessively quirky but the quality of the wines gives reason to believe in the approach.
They also take that quirkiness in another direction: there is half a hectare of Sauvignon Blanc planted on the property. I don't know of any other Sauvignon Blanc planted in Montalcino, but here it is: 12% ABV, fresh, crisp, bright, lightly herbaceous. Think of it like an Italian going on holiday to the Loire, or indeed a Loire winemaker going to Tuscany for a harvest.
Speaking of France, Irancy is a small appellation just south of Chablis. One would expect that Chardonnay would dominate plantings, but the main grape variety is Pinot Noir (there's even a little bit of Gamay, and a local variety called César). Although it's an historic appellation, the wines often get overlooked compared to the more famous villages of Côte d'Or. There are only 50 or so producers, and the wines are of consistently high quality and a great alternative to (much) more expensive red Burgundy.
Benoît Catin is one example. His family's wine history goes back to the late 1800s. He started working with his father in 1991, and made his first vintage in 1994. His son, Félicien, will join him when he's graduated from university in Beaune.
"La Grande Côte" is a single-vineyard wine from a south-facing slope. It's absolutely everything you'd hope for from Pinot Noir: high acid, just ripe red fruits, fine tannins, herbal, spice aromas. The wine I got in is from 2018: absolutely perfect for drinking now.
Looking for the unusual doesn't meaning looking for the weird: it means looking for the good.