90 pts Vinous
The 2023 Sancerre Blanc is a very well-made example. From a tricky vintage with high yields, this impresses with its tenderness, balance and elegance. Biodynamic farming and hand harvesting, among other careful handling techniques, can be sensed in the wine's delicate texture. Aromatically, it's pretty with elderflower, ripe lemon and red apple. If you're going to buy Sancerre from 2023, you won't go wrong here. It is one of the best releases of the vintage to date. - By Rebecca Gibb MW on July 2024

• Terroir: Mixed soil types of silex, caillottes, and grillot
• Vines: Various ages 10-40+ years old, Guyot trained
• Farming: Certified Organic, practicing Biodynamic.
• Winemaking: De-stemmed grapes fermented in steel for 2-3 weeks
• Aging: aged in steel on the lees until bottled

What is most interesting about Crochet’s entry-level Sancerre blanc is that it is an assemblage of dozens of small vineyards from every aspect (from north, south, east and west), steep to flat sites, numerous geological formations, including the hard, silica-based sedimentary rock (silex, or chert/flint stone), various limestone formations of soft, powdery chalk (referred to locally as grillot), medium-hard chalky limestone (caillottes), and other limestone marls; the only famous geological formation missing in his range is the kimmeridgian marl, a rock formation similar to what is found in Chablis, known in Sancerre as Terres Blanches. Aside from the mix of tiny parcels too small to have their own cuvée, the majority of the mix comes from each of the vineyards that are bottled as single site wines. Fermented and aged solely in stainless steel, Crochet crafts an energetic, mercurial style of Sancerre with fine lines and pointed complexities.

Rebecca Gibb MW, Vinous Media on Crochet:
In Bué, François Crochet is one of the most impressive producers in the appellation, with great attention to detail. From 2023, the vineyards have been certified as both organic and biodynamic. All of the 12ha are harvested by hand before being whole bunch pressed, making for pure, delicate fruit quality with lower thiols, leading to restrained fruit characters and impeccable clarity throughout the range. Since 2019, only wild yeasts have been used in the winery. While the wines from the current 2022 vintage display the richness of the warm season, they remain balanced and carefully made. From early tastes of the 2023 vintage, the domaine’s Sancerre Blanc is a very well-made example. From a tricky vintage with high yields, the unfinished tank samples of Crochet’s show rare concentration, which is a welcome surprise. Two green harvests were surely key to this. The current crop of 2022 Pinot Noirs is deftly handled and ripe, allowing for ripe stems and a high proportion of whole bunches, but they are well-balanced and have longevity. The domaine’s lieux dits, parcels in Petit Chemarin, Grand Chemarin and Le Chêne Marchand, are limestone-based (calcaire/griottes/terres blanches), providing tenderness on the mid-palate with a fine chalky veil on the finish. However, each has its own personality: Le Petit Chemarin has a higher proportion of clay in the soil, giving roundness in addition to the winemaking influence of 18 months on lees in large foudres, while Le Chêne Marchand shows great power.