Thomas-Labaille Sancerre Les Monts Damnes "Cuvee Buster" 2023

The Mont Damnés slope is Sancerre's most storied piece of Kimmeridgian limestone, and Thomas-Labaille farms 30-year-old vines on it sustainably, taking only the first press juice for this cuvée, a single 600-liter barrel in most vintages. That barrel does its work quietly: no vanilla, just a broader mid-palate carrying the chalk and citrus tension of the 2023. This is Sauvignon Blanc as a soil delivery system, not a fruit bomb.