2018 Roland Tissier Sancerre

Roland Tissier

France / Sancerre / Roland Tissier

100% Sauvignon Blanc from vines with an average age of 30 years growing on clay-limestone, limestone and silex soils. After a very slow airbag pressing the must is cold settled over 24 hours. The must then goes into stainless steel tanks for fermentation, which happens at low temperatures (about 15°C) over 15 to 20 days. During élevage, the fine lees are stirred (depending on vintage) to give texture and roundness. The wine is then fined and settled over a few weeks, then then filtered before bottling.

March, 2020

Gary Walsh

The Wine Front

93 points

Altogether classic. White nectarine and gooseberry, brine and blackcurrant, a little rub of nettle. It’s fleshy and flavoursome, but not overt, discreet, gently creamy and chalky, a bit of the old ‘mineral’ and crushed rock, passionfruit and grapefruit on a composed and pretty long finish. Delightful.

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About Roland Tissier

Domaine Roland Tissier is a small, family-owned wine estate in Chavignol, one of the greatest wine villages within the Sancerre district. Founded in 1945, the domain is run today by Roland Tissier’s grandchildren, viticulturalist Rodolphe and winemaker Florent. Rudolph Tissier took the reins of the family business some 20 years ago and takes most of the responsibility for viticulture, while younger brother Florent works the cellar.


About

The thing that hits you most about Rudolph and Florent Tissier is their desire to express the unique 'silex' terroir of Sancerre. Yields of between 50 and 60 hl per hectare are an important factor but the Tissiers are at pains to express that excessively low yields can diffuse or destroy the terroir expression. Across a range of tank and barrel samples you get the clear impression that this is a hands-on, no-smoke-and-mirrors affair. The blend is put together from nine or 10 different wines, vinified differently depending on the terroir. Clay, soil, and silex are all given different treatments, such as time on lees and type of yeast. “It's impossible to put terroir into a wine but it's very easy to knock it out,” as Florent Tissier puts it.