Domaine Tinel-Blondelet, Sancerre, Blanc Palets, Loire, France

Tinel-Blondelet's 2019 Sancerre Les Blancs Palets is a top class Sancerre, with great depth of gooseberry fruit married perfectly with minerality and fine acidity to balance. Dry and fruity with real finesse.

Tinel Blondelet's Les Blancs Palets was formerly called Les Blancs Gateaux , and both names refer to the same fine white wine and the white flints that cover the limestone slopes of La Croix Canat terroir, which gives this sassy Sancerre its deliciously dry flinty character.

Annick Tinel-Blondelet has over 400 years of winemaking in her family. She took over the estate from her parents, Camille & Fernand, in 1983, and now represents the 12th generation of winegrowers in the family, working the estate with her sister Agnès. Situated beside the old Roman road above the east bank of the Loire river, Tinel-Blondelet's vineyards are sited on slopes of Kimmeridgian marl as found in the best vineyards of Chablis. The estate has been classified with the highest of the three available certifications for environmental status, has wonderful soils, which impart the world-renowned mineral nuances and complexity to their wines, while great fruit concentration is derived from the optimal ripeness of the grapes grown on the 35-year old vines that bask on the south-facing slopes.