Vinous Media, Rebecca Gibb MW, August 2026
A shining star of Sancerre, Claude Riffault produces suave, texturally intriguing, seemingly effortless wines. After joining the family business in 2001, Stéphane Riffault began implementing changes, starting with a move to hand-harvesting in 2008. In 2013, the family converted their 15 hectares to organic farming, achieving official certification in 2016. Biodynamic conversion started in 2018, and 2021 was the first fully biodynamic harvest. All the white wines (the estate also farms 2 hectares of Pinot Noir) are fermented and aged in large wood. Malolactic fermentation has always been blocked, but in 2023, the single-vineyard wines Les Chailloux and Les Chasseignes went through malo before alcoholic fermentation had finished. This gives them a softer, creamier note that I haven’t seen in previous vintages, but it obscures some of their unique terroir identity, particularly the flint-derived Les Chailloux. Riffault noted he had to pay careful attention to volatile acidity due to high populations of acetic acid and lactic bacteria. The blended cuvée, Mosaique Calcaire, was aged less in wood and more in tank in 2023, not only due to the logistics of a big and fast harvest, but to maintain freshness in this relatively low-acid vintage.