Vincent Delaporte Sancerre Silex Rouge 2020
A beautiful ruby-crimson colour with reflections of black cherry. The aromatics in are intense, with roasted, grilled and toasted notes dominating. On the attack, the wine is clean, with a roundness giving a delicious unctuousness. This is followed by the tannins, already soft and silky throughout. The Cuvée Silex is a full-bodied red Sancerre vin de prestige with character. Its finish shows classic notes of maturity (caramel, fruit compote).
Grape variety: Pinot Noir 100%
The Terroir: Forty-year-old vines, planted in 100 per cent flinty soil, they are cultivated sustainably, following traditional methods, in order to give maximum respect to the environment. These soils retard the maturation of the grapes, which allows for a later harvest and healthier grapes. This soil allows us to make a wine that has remarkable keeping potential. Balance and refinement are the underpinnings of the Cuvée Silex. This is another Delaporte vin de prestige, crafted according to tradition.
Winemaking:
• The grapes are hand-picked in small cases of 12kg, sorted on a table and then 100 per cent destemmed.
• Alcoholic fermentation in small stainless-steel vats lasts about twelve days; it is thermo controlled at 25° Celsius with daily manual pigeage, or punching down of the cap.
• Malolactic fermentation is carried out entirely in oak barrels that are one to five years old.
• The wine is bottled after twelve months of barrel ageing without filtration.
| Winery | Vincent Delaporte |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Loire |
| Wine Type | Red Wine |
| Grape variety | Pinot Noir |
| Bottle Size | Bottle |
| Vintage | 2020 |
Browse all Domaine Vincent Delaporte Wines
Located in the heart of the Sancerre region, the Delaporte Domaine is a family business that has been been handed from father to son since the 17th century.
Since 2010 Vincent Delaporte's grandson, Matthieu Delaporte has been fully focused on further improving the domaine's wines. A more organic approach has been adopted in the vineyards with herbicides no longer being used.
Yields have been lowered and oak is being judiciously introduced to the vinification.
Our Sancerre wines have a deal of finesse and subtlety and whilst the lessons of the past have not been forgotten we know that improvements can always be made. Since 2015, the harvest is done entirely by hand. This allowed for more selective picking which undoubtedly impacted the quality of the resulting wines.
Our wines are all made from grapes grown in our own vineyards which today extend to 33 hectares, three quarters of which are planted with a very fine clone of Sauvignon Blanc, while the rest is the most elegant and delicate of red varieties, Pinot Noir. We aim to give the upmost respect to the terroir and land in which we work and which gives us our living and to care for it for the generations to come.
Our Know How
Here's nothing especially revolutionary about the viticulture and vinification that we practice; all that we do is focused on delivering the best possible fruit to increasingly show the very best of our individual parcels. Our organic approach in the vineyard is central to uncovering the personality of each terroir and is sensitively and intelligently adopted.
With the help of some 80 pickers harvesting takes place once the grapes have reached optimum ripeness, over a short period of time.
In 2018, to reduce the risk of oxidation of grape juice, we redesigned harvesting. Starting with the replacement of traditional vintage hoods by stackable boxes of only 12kg. In addition to the working comfort for the grape pickers, this change prevents the grapes from self-pressing and thus producing a juice which, upon arrival in the cellar, would have already begun to oxidize. The grapes arrive intact at the press.
The field has also replaced its pneumatic presses with two hydraulic presses very respectful of the raw material. They allow us to obtain very pure and clear grape juices and thus avoid settling. In the cellar the juices are transformed into wine with very few human interventions. All these changes combined with impeccable hygiene and the very slightest of human intervention have significantly reduced the use of sulphur.
Once the grapes have been turned in to wine we have little to do other than be patient and let nature take its course. Lengthy lees ageing, without racking, gives Sauvignon Blanc of purity and Pinot Noir with finesse. With regards to barrel ageing a proportion of the red wine will spend time in 228 litre barrels, whilst the whites go in to 600 litre "tonnes" and 2000 litre "foudres". In both cases this time in oak adds richness and complexity to the wines.
Precision, balance and complexity are the watchwords of our cuvées with each delivering a strong sense of their individual terroirs, marked by considerable minerality, power and freshness.
With 50 different plots, the terroir of the domain is very plural. With 80% of them facing south, it enjoys a remarkable exposure with 35% of the vines on flint soil (quite rare in the area) and the other part in limestone soil ("caillottes" and "terres blanches").
