The Dezat family have been tending vines and making wine in and around Sancerre since the mid 1500’s. Though it wasn’t until 1948 when 16th generation, André Dezat, expanded the estate and began commercializing the wines in earnest. Today, his grandson Firmin Dezat (18th generation!) continues to run the family’s estate. The winery owns 23 Hectares of Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir in Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé and Menetou-Salon which are farmed naturally, a rarity in these commercial appellations where conventional farming is still the norm. Born in 1989, Firmin Dezat is the perfect archetype for a young, passionate and enlightened winemaker. He makes it a point of both tasting and getting to know many top winemakers not only in France, but in other countries and regions as well. His travels and palate breadth help to inform his farming and winemaking.
In Sancerre, Dezat farms 12 hA of vineyards in and around the village of Verdigny, 8.5 in white and 3.5 in red. In Pouilly-Fume, he has 8.5 hA and 2.5 hA as well in Menetou-Salon. The vineyards are comprised of all the main soil types of the region, terres blanches (chalk), caillotes (a gravelly limestone-based soil), and silex (flint), which are harvested and vinified separately. For the flagship wines, these are later combined for complexity and layering, and conversely, for his range of parcellaire cuvées in both Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé, these terroir differences are emphasized for their individuality and soil signatures.
In the vineyards, much of the work is done by hand with an emphasis in both natural viticulture and yield control. In the winery, everything is then sorted by hand on a table de trie before the fermentations which are done with neutral selected yeasts for the Sancerre and Puilly-Fumé, and indigenous yeasts for all the reds and parcellaire wines. For the flagship cuvees, fermentations occur mostly in stainless steel tank, though the Sancerre also sees 15% of used 500-liter barrel in the blend. For the top wines, Firmin uses between 50 and 100% of 500-liter demi-muids, depending on the cuvée. Dezat feels that long, slow, fermentations add to the complexity and texture of his wines. They often take 30-60 days to complete.
The resulting wines show a depth, breadth and precision not often found in the wines of the region which reflect the level of detail and attention to all phases of the growing season and vinification process. His top wines each display a singular voice and also have a potential for aging, easily 5-10 years in most vintages. In sum, Firmin Dezat is clearly a name to watch as a “rising star” in the region!