If you have never tried a red wine from Sancerre, there is a likely explanation: only 10–20% of the wines from that appellation are red, even though the Sancerrois have been cultivating and vinifying Pinot Noir for centuries! In the late 1980s, Kermit asked Hippolyte’s son Michel to try aging his small amount of Sancerre rouge in the traditional demi-muids and bottling it unfiltered. Michel agreed to run this experiment with the cuvées we imported, but he continued to filter his Pinot Noir for other customers. Eventually those clients tasted our unfiltered cuvée and requested this style for themselves. So, in 2003, Michel  finally decided to bottle all of his reds unfiltered. One whiff of this charming, Paris-bistro Pinot Noir from Sancerre and you know you’re not in Burgundy. Pure, classy fruit sing tenor without any interference from the earthy bass that often makes itself heard in Bourgogne rouge. This Pinot Noir is for pleasure and refreshment, not for pondering.