"The High Stones" — that's what Les Hautes Pierres means, and it tells you everything about this wine before you even open the bottle. Pascal Balland farms his Sancerre vineyards on the steep, stony hillsides above the village of Boué in the heart of the appellation, where Kimmeridgian limestone and s...Show More >
"The High Stones" — that's what Les Hautes Pierres means, and it tells you everything about this wine before you even open the bottle. Pascal Balland farms his Sancerre vineyards on the steep, stony hillsides above the village of Boué in the heart of the appellation, where Kimmeridgian limestone and silex (flint) soils define the mineral backbone that makes Sancerre one of the world's great white wine appellations. A family domaine with deep roots in the Loire, Balland brings a precise, uninterventionist hand to his winemaking — letting the terroir speak rather than the cellar. At $39.99, this is Sancerre at a price that respects both the wine and the buyer.
Harvested by hand, the grapes are pneumatically pressed and fermented in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks to preserve freshness and aromatic purity. The wine rests on its fine lees before a light filtration and spring bottling. The 2025 shows everything you come to Sancerre for: a luminous pale gold in the glass, with a nose of white grapefruit, lemon zest, fresh-cut grass, and a signature flinty minerality. On the palate: crisp, dry, and laser-focused, with vibrant acidity, flavors of citrus and white peach, and a long, stony finish that lingers. Drink now through 2028.
