Domaine du Pré Semelé Sancerre Rosé Mainbré 2024 75 cl.

Sancerre Rosé “Mainbré” is the wine from the area around the village of Maimbray, whose vineyard sites form the basis of the wine. Mainbré is the old spelling of Maimbray.

Domaine du Pré Semelé is a small, family-owned estate located about five kilometres north of the town of Sancerre, now run by the fourth generation. The new generation has not only transformed the wines: Julién & Clément Raimbault have an unwavering focus on sustainability and terroir. The estate has long been farmed organically, and from 2023 all wines are organically certified. In particular, the shift from cultured yeast to using only native yeast (via pied de cuve) has changed the wines’ expression—less explosively aromatic, but with far more finesse and minerality in return.

The domaine has two hectares of densely planted Pinot Noir on the most clay-rich parcels in an otherwise limestone-rich, stony soil. This rosé is cold-fermented with native yeasts in stainless steel after a short maceration and two and a half hours of gentle pressing in a membrane press. The wine is then aged in tank on its lees until spring, when it is bottled after a light filtration.

In the glass, delicate red-berry tones are supported by an underlying mineral streak. The palate is dry and elegant with lovely freshness and vibrancy, offering notes of summer red berries. This is a “grown-up rosé” where the fruit emphasises elegance and a sense of place rather than maximum volume—but sometimes that’s exactly what you want, especially when rosé is used as a food wine.

Best enjoyed at around 8–10°C (not fridge-cold), ideally with salmon, sea trout, mackerel or other oily fish—but also worth trying with a hearty salad, paella, bouillabaisse, or light meat dishes.