I opened this Sancerre from Edmond Vatan the other night just to remind myself -- in the midst of winter -- that hope springs eternal. Picked up from Crush in midtown, Vatan's Clos La Néore is intriguing, beguiling, salty and refreshing. This is classic old-timer Sancerre, a touch dirty, which I sort of like, "grown on the steepest, most perfectly exposed slopes in Chavignol ... from old, low-yielding vines, that he tends using minimalist, natural methods." Robert Simonson, at Offthepresses.blogspot has described the Clos La Néore as, "Complex, wide and deep, full of subtle, nuanced fruit and minute flecks of minerality throughout. It is simultaneously mellow and easy, and bracing and edgy."
This is indeed a wine worth looking for, because it is unlike any other Sancerre on the market. I noticed hints of cherry cola and musk emanating from the glass. A salty minerality underlies the mild pineapple and tropical fruits on the midpalate, and there is good Zing! in the mouth. A touch dirty for me, reminiscent of foam or chalk. Considering the rarity of this style of Sancerre, and Vatan's age, it represents a style of Sancerre that will soon become extinct.
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