Vincent Gaudry : Mélodie des Vieilles Vignes 2023

Tasting characteristics and advice for Vincent Gaudry’s Mélodie des Vieilles Vignes 2023

Tasting

Nose
The bouquet reveals floral, fruity and citrus notes.

Palate
A silky attack precedes a generous, floral and persistent palate.

Food and wine pairing

This Sancerre pairs perfectly with spider crab with yuzu, scallop carpaccio with porcini mushrooms, as well as shellfish such as lobster and langoustines. It also complements free-range poultry, white meats and veal escalope. Fresh and aged goat cheeses make for classic, successful pairings.

Serving and cellaring

Mélodie des Vieilles Vignes 2023 is ideally enjoyed at a serving temperature between 50 and 54°F (10–12°C). A brief aeration allows the wine to reveal its full aromatic complexity. Best enjoyed through around 2028.

A delicate Sancerre from century-old vines at Domaine Vincent Gaudry

The estate

Established in the 1990s when Vincent Gaudry, at age 16, took over the family estate in Sury-en-Vaux in the Loire, this Sancerre property now spans 12 hectares planted to 90% Sauvignon Blanc and 10% Pinot Noir. Vincent Gaudry revolutionized the estate starting in 1993 by adopting biodynamics, achieving Demeter certification in 2006. A pioneer of these practices in the region, he farms his vines, averaging 40 years old, across Sancerre’s three emblematic terroirs—silex (flint), terres blanches (Kimmeridgian marl) and caillottes (limestone pebbles)—crafting wines renowned for their authenticity and pure expression of terroir.

The vineyard

“Mélodie des Vieilles Vignes” comes from vines over half a century old, rooted in an exceptional clay-limestone terroir. These old vines, true witnesses to the winegrowing history of Sancerre, bring remarkable concentration and complexity to the wine. Gentle soil work and biodynamic practices enable the roots to dig deep into this calcareous substrate, imparting the wine’s hallmark minerality.

The vintage

The 2023 vintage benefited from favorable weather conditions that allowed for optimal ripening of Sauvignon Blanc. The century-old vines leveraged their deep root systems to navigate weather variations, producing grapes of exceptional quality that faithfully reflect the expression of the Loire terroir.

Winemaking and aging

The grapes are harvested by hand to preserve the integrity of the berries. Vinification of Mélodie des Vieilles Vignes 2023 takes place in wooden vats, followed by maturation also in wooden vats, preserving the pure expression of fruit and terroir.

Grape variety

100% Sauvignon Blanc.