Episode 24 - r u sancerre ious???

What is Samples?

cream team news

Andy: 00:00

Hello, and welcome to Samples for Monday, 06/08/2026. This is the Sancerre episode. You can't be Sancerreous. Are you Sancerreous? That's my price?

Andy: 00:24

Anyway, I've talked about it before. We've all talked about it. It is in the the the lexicon. It is, a thing. Sancerre is incredibly popular not just for the terroir, French, Loire, mineral focused fans of Sauvignon Blanc.

Andy: 00:51

It's for people who lunch, people who brunch. It's for tech bros with vests. It's for people that don't even realize that, it's Sauvignon Blanc. They they think the the variety is, is Sancerre. It's it's transcending, any level of common sense in terms of the pricing, the limited availability, the the fever pitch to secure by the glass to, I don't know, space out the orders with the importer.

Andy: 01:31

It's just, I I haven't seen anything like this in quite some time. I won't I won't compare it. I mean, I don't know if this is a bubble. I don't know when the bubble will burst. I think that because, you know, France does a really good job with the Appalachian system and controlling quality and production levels and and and when the wines are released, etcetera, etcetera.

Andy: 01:59

I think that they, I think that Sancerre will achieve a, you know, a Burgundian status or a or a Champagne Noir status, if not already. So I don't think we have to worry about all of a sudden there's gonna be a sideways moment where, you know, someone's gonna say, I I ain't drinking anymore, effing Sancerre. I I I I think that that was a different situation because Merlot was so widely planted. It was so mediocre and just kind of out of control on the West Coast that, you know, that that bubble popped and, probably still hasn't even come back from it. It's so funny how one mediocre movie can just be part of the the pop culture.

Andy: 02:51

But I think with Sancerre, what you should be aware of is, you know, obviously, Cream has a great selection in both direct import and and working with national importers, and we certainly do have alternatives to, Sancerre with French Sauvignon not only in the Loire but in other regions. But I think you if you're not aware, the 2025 vintage was a challenge. I wouldn't say it was a, a catastrophe, but I would say that, you know, the heat, the drought, the heat spikes resulted in a lot of producers, many of which we work with, had production levels that were, you know, on average about 25 to 30% less than what they normally make. So, you know, that is gonna translate into along with everything else, the current 10% tariff and the weak dollar and the higher cost of shipping and fuel, that's gonna result in higher prices. So I know that your clients, especially restaurants that are using by the glass to pay all their bills, I know that they're not going to wanna accept that or they're gonna basically say, yeah, thanks for telling me that.

Andy: 04:11

I'm gonna now try and get a cheaper Sancerre from your competitor. I get it, but it's just something it's a conversation that we all need to have. So I don't know if clients are loyal to the brand, they're loyal to the appellation. I think it's a little bit of a combination of both. Know, in terms of our portfolio, you know, we have a producer that even though they're a larger production producer, they do have, you know, elevated status and that's Lucian Crochet from Rosenthal and, you know, not just the AOC wine, but the Loudis, the Croix de Wais and the, Marchand, Le Chen de Marchand.

Andy: 04:58

Those are two very complimentary terroir wines where the Croix de Wais is essentially the more opulent. You know, I believe it's a south facing slope, so it's gonna have a little bit more ripeness to it, but it's a little bit more opulent and tropical and kind of that Maui gold pineapple rind situation. And then the the Marchand, the Chen de Marchand, which is like definitely more mineral, more taut, acid driven, tight. Those are, you know, just wonderful Sancerre. So, you know, I wanted to bring your attention to sampling this week.

Andy: 05:40

There is an alternative Sancerre in the rose in the Rosenthal portfolio that Aaron had slacked about, and that is Lestang. Lestang. They're from a little bit the northern part of Sancerre, and they're close to, the Cote De Genois. And the Cote De Genois is you'll be will probably get some, of the Sauvignon, the non Sancerre, but the Cote De Genois Sauvignon from this producer. I would imagine the reason we didn't get any is because it's really good and inexpensive.

Andy: 06:14

When that happens, typically New York and California get all of the wine and then we get the more expensive wine that's more challenging to sell. But, you know, that's don't hate the player, hate the game. But I would like to see you all sample this. It's gonna be I'm gonna email you. It's with the attachment or sorry, I'm attaching it to the to the podcast notification that all of our French sauvignon with Sancerre, prominent, but then also alternatives to getting your clients to maybe open their minds beyond, I gotta have a Sancerre by the glass.

Andy: 06:54

I hope that they do and I hope that it's ours, but if they really truly are interested in making that money, I think a Loire Sauvignon, where they can do a little bit more of a markup and then a Sancerre by the bottle might be the strategy if they're not already doing that. Know, Chris Kaminski had mentioned what he tasted a client on on both the Fouche Le Brun, Le Mans Sancerre, and then the Petite Montsauvignon, and it was a no brainer that the Petite Montsauvignon was so good, so close to the Sancerre in terms of quality and weight and and and structure. But it's, you know, I think it's half price, maybe even maybe even more than half price. So we have some of those other options that I'll that I'll send you, as an attachment with the samples. But for this week, I'd like you to pull samples of the Domain de Lestang and also just know that we're gonna be getting spot drops aloes from Luchin crochet.

Andy: 08:03

It's definitely one of Rosenthal's, biggest suppliers, fastest sellers, biggest moneymakers for them. So, you know, we get our portion of that. And then for some of our other Sancerre options, Denizo, we have a new order of Denizo that's on the way. The Osmo's is the is the the village wine, the the the Appalachian wine, the least expensive, but there also is some, Loudis, the Damocles, and the the Les Buffins. And then you'll see the Osmo's Sancerre Rouge.

Andy: 08:40

Have a Sancerre Rouge conversation with your clients. It's delicious Pinot Noir. I mean, Jay Summers, who's, coming to town later on this year, you know, he really modeled his winery, you know, using Sancerre as an inspiration, placing a focus on Pinot Noir that's in the the Sancerre Rouge style and also Sauvignon, that wasn't West Coast that was a little bit more Euro profile, European focus. And so I think he does those two varieties very well if not better than anybody, you know, in Oregon. But as far as other Sancerre options, the, from Zev's portfolio slash Maximilian, It's the Nicolas Carlin, the Madeline.

Andy: 09:31

That based on everything I said about the vintage, the where it's end of vintage on '24. The '25 that's on order is up significantly. So that's gonna be selling for $30 a bottle. We also have some French Sauvignon Blanc alternatives that I spoke about. Don't forget that white Bordeaux, for the most part, is Sauvignon Blanc based.

Andy: 09:59

We have a direct import stunning value with the VAVine from Chateau Ste. Marie. We certainly have the lower hanging fruit, less expensive, the La Zote Ste. Marie, but the VAVine really is where it's at. If you wanna have a Loire conversation with your clients and maybe not a 100% Sauvignon, there's the Tessier, the the Cheverny Blanc that is on order.

Andy: 10:28

That is, I don't know, about 80% Sauvignon, and then there's some, Minot Pinot in there, maybe 10% of that and 10% Chardonnay. When that comes in, that's a that's a great upper end by the glass alternative. And then, of course, Jolifol and Magnum, French, Terrain, Sauvignon, by the glass, in liter, that's a profit center. That's where your clients can really make some dough. And then the some of the other regions from the Languedoc and and adjacent, we, of course, have Olivier Coast.

Andy: 11:08

We have the Maciak from Rosenthal, which is a huge huge priority and certainly will count towards the BBB incentives that we have. If you know, you know. And then the Domaine Pajot. In a blind tasting, it's a Sauvignon Blanc for sure in profile, but that's the the cattro s'epage. So that is a a s'epage or a plantation was the translation, what they have on their on their estate.

Andy: 11:40

What's planted is those four varieties and that includes, Sauvignon, Uni Blanc, Colombo, and the fourth one escapes me, but it'll be in the in the attachment. And then Chateau Laram from Rosenthal going back to the Bordeaux conversation. So, you know, currently, there's 27 French Sauvignon Blancs that can bob and weave and have a conversation with the great Sancerre. We have Sancerre options in stock and on the way, and then you can, when you sample the L'estang this week, why don't you pull a sample of some of the other non Sancerre Sauvignon Blanc French varieties so you can, have your backup by the glass or your alternative by the glass when your when your clients are like, I just I'm mad as hell and I just can't take it anymore. How can I be expected to pay $30 for a Sancerre and pour it by the glass?

Andy: 12:40

Yada yada yada. So, we're not at the sideways moment with Sancerre. I don't think we have to worry about the bubble being, popped. I mean, maybe it'll get pricked, but, I think that it's gonna be here for a while. The quality certainly is there, and you all have an embarrassment of riches, at Cream.

Andy: 13:02

So thanks for all that you do. I hope everyone has a good week, and I'll see you out there. Ciao.