For those in the know, Vincent Gaudry has been handcrafting some of the most essential, soulful wines of the Loire River Valley for over 30 years in his craftsman cellar in the tiny hamlet of Chambre near Sury-en-Vaux, Sancerre. Vincent is a true minimalist whose guiding principle is “Trust in Nature.” The domaine was established by Vincent’s grandfather, and Vincent was only 16 years old when he joined his father in the family business in 1991. Domaine Vincent Gaudry was the first certified organic and biodynamic producer in Sancerre. Today, he and his wife Séverine farm 11 hectares of vineyards with organic, biodynamic, and regenerative practices.

Gaudry wines are in tune with the elements, instilling a feeling of being profoundly connected to the land. Driven by his deep respect for the wisdom of past generations of local vignerons, Gaudry’s wines are inspired by history and, as a result, are among the most transparent, soulful, and authentic in the region. They are also amongst the most limited due to his artisanal scale. 

Gaudry’s vineyards are planted on all three predominant Sancerre terroirs: silex (flinty soils: structure, length, and lift), which runs in a narrow band along a fault line passing underneath the town of Sancerre, terres blanches (Kimmeridgian clay-limestone marl: mouthfeel), and caillottes (hard, weathered Oxfordian limestone: nose, aromatics).

Appropriately named after Vincent’s astrological sign, ‘Constellation du Scorpion’ is a limited, top cuvée made from the lieu-dit ‘Les Bouloises’ in Saint-Satur, a perfect south-west exposed slope just under the woods, planted in dense, heavy, ferrous Silex soils. Near the top of that slope are boulders of red silex, with fist-sized rocks in the center of the vineyard and smaller pieces at the bottom of the slope. It is truly one of the most rocky and incredible parcels in Sancerre—very difficult to work amongst the boulders. The parcel is an average of 30 years old, planted from a massale selection of old sauvignon blanc clones from Vincent’s Melodie Vieilles Vignes vineyard. 

This wine is an outstanding Sancerre, showing notes of flinty smoke, white flowers, with mint and basil along with bright citrus fruits. On the palate, the salty minerality takes center stage, with outstanding acidity, structure, and body. The silex seems to bring more tension here, deeply textured with bright, flinty undertones. The extremely low yields of this vineyard are on display in Constellation du Scorpion’s exceptionally long finish. It is a superb food wine that will improve in bottle for several years. Constellation du Scorpion is made in very limited quantities.

Vinification – Constellation du Scorpion is hand-harvested in small crates before being destemmed and spontaneously fermented with natural yeasts in large 60-hectoliter used French foudres. Not only are the barrels subject to precise positioning within the cellars, they are made in accordance with the biodynamic calendar. Malolactic fermentation is spontaneous. It is aged on the fine lees without bâtonnage for 18 months in the same foudres before being bottled according to the lunar calendar, unfined and unfiltered.

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