2023 Maison de Madeleine Silex Sancerre 750 ml

Not long ago, we were invited to the Hudson Valley for a long wine weekend. The hills were awash with gold and orange, the trees as decadent as our itinerary. 

Our wine-collector host had a slate of activities planned—blind tastings, epic verticals of Bordeaux, and a dinner devoted to wild game and rare Burgundy—but the first order of business as we all pulled into his upscale farmhouse was to make sure that we felt welcomed.

That meant seafood towers. Oysters from both coasts glistened on an ocean of ice, while lobsters, stone crabs, and Key West pink shrimp beckoned nearby. Neptune himself would’ve been jealous.

There was a catch, though: Each guest had been challenged to bring a few bottles to pair with the spread—our only vinous contributions for the next few days—and we all wanted to prove that our palate was up to the occasion. We’d packed a pair of perfectly rested Premier Cru Chablis, and most everyone else’s contributions were thematically similar: iconic Sancerre from both Cotats, Vacheron, and Boulay mingled with Chablis from the likes of Dauvissat, Billaud, and Fèvre.

While we mingled with the others, we noticed our friend Sébastien had arrived. Seb works for an importer with impeccable taste, and when we said hi, he couldn’t contain his excitement: “Look, everyone here brought great wines—I bet there’s not a bottle under $85 in the ice bucket—but I threw in a ringer.” He smiled, and then added: “And I really think Wine Access members are going to like it.”

He grabbed his bottle and poured us a glass of the Maison de Madeleine Silex Sancerre, and it was spectacular. We locked down all we could.