Domaine Hubert Brochard Sancerre Aujourd'Hui Comme Autrefois has a nose packed with intense gooseberry fruit and leafy nettle notes that also perfume the fruity, full and mouthwatering palate. The long finish just leaves you wanting more.
- Country: France
- Region: Loire Valley
- Subregion: Sancerre
- Vintage: 2019
- Colour: White
- Grape Variety: Sauvignon Blanc
- ABV: 13%
- Bottle Size: 75cl
- Closure: Natural cork
- Style: A taste of history
- Drink With: Thirsty friends
Produced as Daniel Brochard’s ancestors would have made Sancerre decades ago: without fining, filtration or temperature control and with a period of lees contact, giving an incredible intensity of flavour to the finished wine. The vineyards are situated around the village of Chavignol where the limestone soils are ideally suited to growing Sauvignon Blanc and, with an average age of around 40 years, the vines naturally produce low yields of incredible quality grapes.
Please note: because of the traditional winemaking methods used in its production, Domaine Hubert Brochard Sancerre Aujourd'Hui Comme Autrefois can throw a slight sediment in bottle but this is both entirely natural and completely harmless. The wine should either be poured carefully straight from the bottle or decanted as one would for a red wine that has thrown a sediment.
About the grower
In the early 1900s, Aimée Brochard took over the domaine from her father, raising a few goats to produce cheese and cultivating the vines with the help of her husband Hubert. Back then this was no easy task as the work was done entirely by hand, with only their two horses to help.
After their son Henry and his wife Thérèse inherited the estate a few years later, they invested in a small tractor that was incredibly modern for the time. However, he continued to use traditional methods that his parents had taught him. In turn, Thérèse and Henry were able to share their passion with three of their children, Daniel, Jean-Francois and Benoit. Today, Daniel is in charge of managing the family farm; Jean-Francois is responsible for the vineyards and Benoit, the cellar master, is responsible for all winemaking and bottling.
Since 1977, the three brothers have added new vineyards in Chavignol and around Sancerre to their parents’ holdings and they now cultivate about 60 hectares of vines in the Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé and Vin de Pays du Val de Loire appellations. As was the case with their parents’ tractor, the boys were also able to link traditional grape growing and modern winemaking technology by building a brand new cellar equipped with thermo-regulated stainless steel tanks, pneumatic presses, a stemmer and various other materials in 1992.
Recently, another new generation has entered the scene. Caroline and Anne-Sophie, Daniel’s daughters, have brought their youth and dynamism into the family business. After several years of experience in the world of catering management, Caroline now holds the post of commercial and communication manager. Anne-Sophie is an oenologist and brings with her experience of winemaking in the vineyards of Burgundy, Bordeaux and New Zealand.
The estate is composed of 46 hectares of Sauvignon Blanc and 16 hectares of Pinot Noir, and the vines have an average age of 30 to 50 years. The vineyards are spread in several parcels over the communes of Chavignol, Sancerre, Sainte Gemme, Sancerre, Ménétréol, Saint-Satur and Thauvenay and they are mainly planted on soils of limestone, flint and clay. Work in the vineyards proceeds according to the needs of these soils, with the use of any treatments kept to an absolute minimum out of respect for nature and the environment. Practices such as enherbement (grass covering the ground between the rows of vines) are used on some plots to lower yields and to fight against soil erosion.
It is with passion, tradition and modernity that the Brochard family continues to work in the footsteps of their ancestors.