2012 is not a cross for Sancerre to bear!
Over the past week two significant and well respected UK importers have independently told me that they have been told by one of their Sancerre suppliers that due to the well publicised short harvest in 2012 they will regrettably be obliged to raise their prices.
I'm sure that this is not the general message from Sancerre – just a few producers. Sancerre did very well in 2012: they mainly picked before the good weather, which started in late July, broke at the end of September and they enjoyed a near normal yield of around 50 hl/ha. They can have few complaints as they weren't one of the Loire regions hit by a tiny 2012 harvest. Muscadet, for example, averaged 22-23 hl/ha.
Some Sancerre producers may need to raise their prices but this is unlikely to be due to a small crop in 2012. Instead they may have a new sophisticated piece of winery equipment, new Jaguar or a de luxe Mercedes lawnmower to pay for or be going through a messy and expensive divorce...
The same would also apply to Pouilly-Fumé.
