ROBLIN MEETS RABOTINE
IN SMILE OF VALLEY
Château la Rabotine is the property of Alban Roblin, the youngest grandson of Sancerre vigneron Georges Roblin and cousin of Matthias and Émile Roblin of Enclos de Maimbray. In his little isolated pocket in Sancerre’s northern limits, Alban reminds us that Loire Sauvignon Blanc can be quirky and just as cool as Chenin from the left or Chardonnay from the right.
Alban and his wife took control of Château La Rabotine and its vineyards in 2010. What seems like a new wine venture is actually a continuation of an old one; the Roblins have cultivated this land since the 1920s. Alban Roblin lives in Sury-en-Vaux, Smile of the Valley. Sounds like a gimmicky name for a cheese, right? Yet, this northerly region is home to several exceptional winemakers, like the cellars of Mr. Reverdy and Mr. Riffault; pretty nice company. As a winemaker of skill and finesse, Alban is no exception to this remarkable company.
The terrain of Rabotine is a blanket of rocks and stones, exposed gentle hillsides, and old-vines (well over 40 years). The region is singular due to its higher altitude (~280m) and the wind that funnels though the valley, acting like a hair dryer to the vines, deflecting problematic rot and disease. This unusual setting allows Alban to farm biodynamically without sacrificing the fitness of the fruit. For Alban, each vintage dictates how the wine will be made… Will there be more used barrel than steel for Pinot Noir? Will there be stems in the rosé? Will there be extra time on the lees for Sauvignon Blanc? For this reason, the wines of Alban and Château La Rabotine engage us every year and have us drinking Sancerre all over again.
Over the last decade there has been an explosion of single vineyard labels in places from Sancerre to Muscadet and Sonoma to Santa Barbara. While we appreciate these expressions of the carefully dotted lines of terroir, we must not forget the skill of blending. The wines of Alban Roblin are mostly skillful blends, a meditated checks and minuses of several lieux-dits. As a result, we have an understanding of what Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir from Sury-en-Vaux taste like. Before we battle the greatest vineyards of Sancerre, maybe we should firstly examine why a wine from Chavignol tastes like a wine from Chavignol and why a wine from Sury-en-Vaux tastes like a wine from Sury-en-Vaux. Thanks to Alban Roblin and his Smile of the Valley neighbors, we begin the conversation.
Alban sources his fruit from four different lieux-dits vineyards in his unique pocket of Sury-en-Vaux: Les Perrieres, Le Canard, La Rabotine and Côte de Valliens. Year in and year out, the finest Sancerres come from vineyards composed of two different kinds of soil: Terres Blanches (Kimmeridgian limestone clay) or Caillotes (Portlandian limestone). Alban’s four vineyards are evenly split between the two. In 2023, each lieu-dit contributes equally to the final wine.
You’ve heard about the tough weather in the Loire in 2023, I’m sure. Well, that tough weather was somewhere else. In the eastern Loire things were excellent, much like 2022. In fact, if you liked the Alban’s 2022 Sancerre Blanc, you’ll love his 2023. The hand-picked fruit came in at nearly identical level of ripeness, very healthy and easy to sort. After bladder pressing, cold settling, temperature-controlled fermentation and then six months rest on the fine lees, the wine was bottled in April before shipping to California. Not to get too geeky, but pH levels were very similar to 2022, along with total dry extract. As always, the acidity is completely natural; Alban never acidifies with any of the allowed products like citric or tartaric acid. The one appreciable difference between the two vintages is that 2023 crop was smaller by about 10% making the fruit, and ultimately the wine, more concentrated. So, Alban’s 2023 shows all the juicy white-fleshed pit fruits that we loved in his 2022, just more so. While the wine is quite expressive right now, it is still young and will only gain in depth and complexity. Just like with Alban’s Sancerre Rosé and Sancerre Rouge “Cuvée des Dames,” his Blanc will develop remarkably with the magic of time on the cork.
Maybe the only reason there is so little Sancerre Rouge is that Sancerre Blanc rules the world. LOL! Seriously, all of the pieces of the puzzle to make truly fine Pinot Noir exist in Sancerre: cool climate for long, slow ripening; rocky, limestone-clay soils for that essential mineral-laden, cherry-berry fruit character in the glass; and hillside vineyards because that’s just the best way to grow grapes. Well, the fact remains, there is precious little Sancerre Rouge to go around. At Château La Rabotine that’s just six acres of their 30 total.
Two vineyards contribute to Alban’s 2022 Sancerre Rouge “Cuvée des Dames”: 60+ year vines in L’Erable and Droux. L’Erable usually makes up the single source for his Rouge, but this year he added a small percentage of the Droux just like he did with his celebrated 2020. In fact, Alban approached both vintages in much the same way. Strict pruning, green fruit and leaf thinning, and timely early picking brought in just about perfect fruit. On arrival at the cellar, the fruit was fully destemmed and closely sorted, then macerated in stainless steel tank for three weeks with manual punching of the cap and pumping over. After maceration and alcoholic fermentation, the wine was racked off into a combination of tank and neutral oak barrels where a natural malolactic fermentaion finished the wine in early spring of 2023. From there, Alban let the wine rest for nine months, bottling in January of 2024. Speaking with Alban, he says the wine has a “clear and limpid red cherry color. The nose is rich and complex with aromas of red fruits, dominated by black currants and a beguiling spice. It is long on the palate where it’s velvety grip, fresh acidity and raspberry/plum fruit character are most apparent.” Anyone who liked Alban’s 2020 will appreciate his 2022 just as much. Only problem is less than 100 cases are destined for the U.S. Come and get it.
100% Pinot Noir sourced from the monopole “L’Erable.” The fruit is hand picked for us, completely destemmed and bladder pressed. The juice then flows by gravity to a single steel tank, newly acquired for the U.S. An amazing blanket that wraps the tank enables temperature control of fermentation. The wine is bottled with only a light fining and no filtration. This is real Sancerre Rosé. No saignée, no slight of hand, no “Frankenwine” methods. Fresh and alive with fruits of Damson plum and whispers of huckleberry. Dry and 100% natural acidity. Zero additives. Length, body, finesse and balance. Bottled March, 2023.