Vatan/Edmond Sancerre Clos la Néore 2017

97 points John Gilman (View From the Cellar): "It is hard to believe how long I have been drinking and cellaring the wines from Edmond Vatan, as the first vintage I ever sold of his wine was the 1988 all the way back in late 1980s. I should have cellared some then, as I am sure the ’88 is still drinking brilliantly today! However, it took me a decade or so to get my act together and cellar my Vatan for the long haul, so the oldest bottle I have left in my cellar is from the 1997 vintage. In any case, Monsieur Vatan and his lovely daughter Anne have crafted a stellar wine in 2017, with this vintage coming in at an even fourteen percent octane (pretty much standard for Monsieur Vatan’s wines in most vintages of the last twenty years) and offering up that classic, youthful aromatic constellation of lime, pear, complex botanicals, kaleidoscopic minerality, fresh mint, a dollop of petrol, incipient notes of beeswax and a topnote of citrus peel. On the palate the wine is pure, full-bodied, precise and rock solid at the core, with classic Vatan mineral drive, snappy, buried acids, impeccable balance and a long, complex, focused and vibrant young finish. In these days of global warming, I have found myself drawn more now to the less ripe vintages of this wine and those from François Cotat, as their traditional styles seem to work better in years with a bit less sun. The 2017 from the Vatan family is a legend in the making! Monsieur Vatan was born in 1929 and turns ninety-one this year, but continues to cruise along in good health. A Happy 91st to the maestro of Chavignol, who is proving even more timeless than his wines! 2027-2075. (May/Jun 2020)"

Literally, no matter what the conditions of the year, whatever Edmond Vatan creates is remarkable, with amazing consistency from vintage to vintage. When asked how he can do this, he replies that it is so simple a matter that it needs no explanation--if you plant low-yielding vines on only the steepest, perfectly exposed slopes, prune severely, provide only necessary and natural treatments, (and as little as possible, forcing the vine down for strength and character), harvesting after all the rest have finished (no problem finding pickers then!) and vinifying according only to the traditional (actually ancient) methods--it becomes a question of comparing the personality of each vintage, not which is "better". A unique wine which is unequalled, and only approached in Sancerre by the Cotat Domaine, which is enormous in comparison to Vatan (total production 500 cases, of which we in America get 125).