'02 Quincy could be a local favorite
If there was ever a wine that
should fly off the shelves based on
the name alone, especially south
of Boston, it is Domaine Henri
Bourgeois’s 2002 Quincy. Fortunately,
the wine doesn’t have to
rest solely on labeling; it’s delicious
and well priced, too.
Quincy (pronounced kan-sea)
is a small village near Sancerre in
France’s Loire River Valley. Like
white wine from Sancerre, the
wines from Quincy are made from
sauvignon blanc grapes. The
region’s sandy, gravelly soil affords
good drainage, which prevents the
grapes from becoming waterlogged
and their flavors diluted.
The wines from Quincy were so
prized before World War II that
the area was the second to receive
AOC (appellation d’origine contrôlée)
status — official government
recognition — after only Châteauneuf
du Pape. But they were displaced
by the better-known ones
from Sancerre and fell out of favor.
Now they are making a comeback
in the marketplace as established
producers, like Bourgeois,
expand from their traditional base
in Sancerre. Bourgeois owns no
vineyards in Quincy, but, instead
of buying grapes, the usual practice
when a winery doesn’t own
land, it is leasing the vineyard and
farming it themselves. That means
it still has total control over the
growing process.
The weather during the 2002
growing season was perfect
throughout the Loire Valley, making
wines from that year some of
the best in over a decade. So
snatch them up while you can
because the 2003s are less distinctive.
The torrid heat of 2003
resulted in very ripe grapes and
correspondingly lower acid levels,
which robbed many dry Loire
wines of their usual brightness.
Domaine Henri Bourgeois
consistently produces outstanding
wines. They make many different
Sancerres to highlight the subtles
among the vineyards in that area.
I can’t remember one that I didn’t
love. The 2002 Quincy, labeled
Haute Victoire, fits that mold. It’s
pleasantly pungent and has a
refreshing citric quality, which
makes it an excellent choice for
seafood. Its name not withstanding,
you don’t have to be from
Quincy to love this wine.
