Sancerre Rose Wine: 10 Best Bottles (2024), Tasting Notes, How It’s Made

If you like dry and fruity rose wine, you’ll love the outstanding Sancerre Rose!

A masterpiece from the Sancerre wine appellation in France’s Loire Valley, this Pinot Noir rose gets its distinct characteristics from the brilliant terroir.

You may know Sancerre for its Sauvignon Blanc white wine. The delicious rose and red wine (Sancerre Rouge) produced in smaller amounts by the appellation are just as sensational.

Which is the best bottle to buy? How should you serve Sancerre Rose?

Let’s explore all about the charming Sancerre Rose, the best bottles to buy in 2024, taste and characteristics, serving tips, and its vinification process.

10 Must-Try Sancerre Rose Wines In 2024

Here are 10 Sancerre Rose wines that you must try. 

All of these are gorgeous dry, light-bodied rose wines made exclusively from the Pinot Noir grape variety grown in the Sancerre region of the Loire Valley!

• 2017 Francois Cotat Sancerre Chavignol Rose
• 2012 Pascal Cotat Sancerre Chavignol Rose
• 2017 Baron de Ladoucette Sancerre La Poussie Rose
• 2020 Domaine Vacheron Le Rose
• 2020 Alphonse Mellot Sancerre La Moussiere Rose
• 2018 Gerard Boulay Sancerre 'Sibylle' Rose
• 2019 Francois Crochet Sancerre Rose
• 2016 Pascal Jolivet Sancerre Rose
• 2019 Jean-Marie Reverdy Sancerre La Villaudiere Rose
• 2019 Domaine Christian Salmon Sancerre Rose

1. 2017 Francois Cotat Sancerre Chavignol Rose, Loire, France ($100)

Made from 20-year-old Pinot Noir vine plantings, this rose gives off strawberry, orange zest, and melon aromas. On the palate, it offers honeyed fruit flavors with silky textures and a long finish.

2. 2012 Pascal Cotat Sancerre Chavignol Rose, Loire, France ($77)

The 2012 Pascal Cotat showcases a fresh nose of red apple, apricot, plum, and grapefruit. It is well-balanced with mellow red fruit flavor, good acidity, and a smooth and persistent finish.

3. 2017 Baron de Ladoucette Sancerre La Poussie Rose, Loire, France ($65)

The 2017 vintage from Baron de Ladoucette is an elegant salmon pink rose with a hint of ripe fruit like peach and red berry aromas. It is light-bodied and expressive with a long finish. 

4. 2020 Domaine Vacheron Le Rose, Loire, France ($37)

This 2020 Sancerre Rose vintage from Domaine Vacheron is a pale salmon rose made from 30 to 50-year-old Pinot Noir vine plantings.

It delivers complex aromas of red fruit, blood orange, and minerality with refreshing cherry and stone fruit flavor on the palate.

5. 2020 Alphonse Mellot Sancerre La Moussiere Rose, Loire, France ($35) 

This Pinot Noir wine is produced from the fruit of Alphonse’s brilliant limestone and marl-heavy vineyard.

It displays aromas of pepper spice, red berry fruit, and minerals with smooth textures and a focused finish on the palate.

6. 2018 Gerard Boulay Sancerre 'Sibylle' Rose, Loire, France ($32)

The 2018 Gerar Boulay offers notes of red berry, citrus fruit, and floral aromas with Pinot fruit, bitter cherry, and spice flavors. Its vibrant freshness and juicy personality go well with its penetrating finish.

7. 2019 Francois Crochet Sancerre Rose, Loire, France ($28)

The 2019 vintage from Francois Crochet presents a complex bouquet of green citrus, passion fruit, and green herbs. It is a charming rose with ripe strawberry flavor, a dense texture, and crisp acidity.

8. 2016 Pascal Jolivet Sancerre Rose, Loire, France ($24)

This 2016 Sancerre Rose from Pascal Jolivet is a pale salmon pink with soft hints of wild strawberry, apricot, rhubarb, and citrus. It is rich and elegant on the palate with flavors of ripe red berry, grapefruit, blood orange, and minerals with a clean and crisp finish.

9. 2019 Jean-Marie Reverdy Sancerre La Villaudiere Rose, Loire, France ($22)

The 2019 La Villaudiere Rose has a pink hue with salmon highlights and a bouquet of spice and red berry fruit like strawberry, cherry, and red currant. The wine has a brilliant freshness with a long yet light finish.

10. 2019 Domaine Christian Salmon Sancerre Rose, Loire, France ($22)

Made in the Bué commune of the Loire Valley, the 2019 Christian Salmon Rose offers a hint of wild strawberry, red currant, blackberry, passionfruit, and citrus. On the palate, the wine showcases mineral, dried herb, green apple, and lime flavors with a touch of acidity.

Sancerre Rose Wine: Tasting Notes And Serving Tips

In general, the wine has a beautiful salmon pink hue with soft minerality and red berry fruit notes of strawberry and raspberry. It offers a smooth texture with good acidity on the palate.

Serve a Sancerre Rose wine at around 8-12°C as an aperitif or with summer dishes like grilled meats, salad, seafood, and spicy food.

How Is Sancerre Rose Wine Made?

Rooted in lush vineyard plots along the rolling hills, the Pinot Noir vines are grown in stony soils composed primarily of Kimmeridgian limestone - also called Caillottes soil. 

Winemakers must partially thin out the vines in summer to enable good maturity. They must also ensure that the fruit is perfectly ripe (which is challenging given the region’s northern latitude) before harvesting to produce good-quality wine.

The wine is typically made using natural vinification methods in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks.

The winemaking process is divided into three main stages:

• The Pinot Noir grape juice undergoes a short maceration (soaking grape juice with the skins) after crushing to create the wine’s distinctive color and flavor.
• The winemaker then separates the grape skins from the juice via pressing and begins the fermentation process (in the absence of the skins like Champagne and white wine.)
• The wine finally undergoes aging on fine lees before bottling.

Most Sancerre Rose wine is unoaked (not matured in oak barrels) and perfect for early drinking. However, some ageable bottles could improve within a few years (up to 2 years) in the cellar.

Enjoy A Bottle of Sancerre Rose!

The mineral and fruity Sancerre Rose represents the distinct terroir in France’s Loire Valley. You could serve these wines as an aperitif at your next dinner.

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