Vouvray and Chenin Blanc What makes Vouvray interesting is that there is a minerality to Vouvray that one rarely finds with other Chenin Blanc and a range of styles that can be confusing but are ultimately wonderful for the consumer. It is also an appellation where great wine has been made through this century, unlike the Côteaux-du-Layon, which has had a revolution in quality over the past 10 years. Styles: Sparkling With the exception of the very top names, this is something to avoid. Sparkling Vouvray usually comes from the worst vineyards, underripe grapes and is a cash crop. By best names, I mean the same ones you would buy any Vouvray from. See below. With the exception of sparkling Vouvray, a dry Vouvray from a good grower and a good vintage should be able to age endlessly. And I mean endlessly. Historically, they shut-down after a few years, but lately this seems to be less the case. I´m not sure why. Sec This is dry. Usually these come from earlier harvesting in a ripe vintage and can go wonderfully with a range of fish foods, poultry and cheese. I notice lately that more and more of New York´s top restaurants serve dry or demi-sec Vouvray as a replacement for Chardonnay. It is a good idea. Sec is more of an acquired taste than demi-sec for people new to Chenin as they can be bracingly dry. Demi-Sec In principal from 4 grams of residual sugar to about 16. But can vary by grower. These have a bit of sweetness, but still have the minerality that shows so beautifully and with such freshness as the secs. Moëlleux These are the sweet wines of Vouvray. In general, they can range from 30 grams of sugar to 260+, depending on grower, vintage and the goals of the grower. A bottle simply labeled Moëlleux is a Moëlleux and might be at 30 or 40 grams of sugar residual but so is Huet's monumental Cuvée Constance 1997 and other super-sweet bottling. As Tim York points out below, Fouquet at Aubuisières does not label by 'type' of wine but by vineyard. So there is an enormous range of stuff going on in this category from the just sweet to the incredibly sweet. The best thing is to buy from a reliable merchant or ask Brad Kane. What makes them sweet is botrytis or passérillage or a combination of the two. 1995 through 1997 was a fabulous 3 years for any of the categories of Vouvray, particularly the sweet ones. In principal, sweet wines can be produced by intentionally blocked fermentations and chaptalization -- these are trash and to be avoided. It is the vintage conditions that make the great years, not tricks in the winery. 1997 is one of the great years of the century. What adds to the confusion is a grower may make a Moëlleux and then a special cuvee or a grain-par-grain. In general, a wine labeled simply as a Moëlleux is either the first level of sweet wines for a grower in a ripe year or the top level in an average year. I know its confusing but everything can´t be as simple as California (where the Cabernet only has to have 70% Cabernet ... but that's another topic). Who to buy from: The two historic names in Vouvray are Huet and Foureau. Some prefer Huet, some Foureau. Makes no difference here, either are a pleasure. I prefer Huet, but I also get to taste them more frequently and know the proprietor, so I might be basing my preferences on a subjective judgement. They are the historic names because they have great terroir and have been making great wines for decades. Huet is one of the leading examples of biodynamie in France and Noël Pinguet, Huet's son-in-law seems a down-to-earth and sensible individual, unlike other proponents of biodynamie in the Loire valley. You then have two younger growers with comparable terroir that have established their names starting with the great 1989/1990 combination: Bernard Fouquet at Aubuisières and Catherine et Didier Champalou. Both of these domaine have great terroir and they work their vineyards and winery in exemplary fashion. Part of what is new in the appellation is a systematic reduction in the use of SO2 amongst the best growers. The wines can risk a secondary fermentation in bottle given the residual sugar and the wines use to be sterile filtered and doped with SO2. This does not make for pleasant drinking. The newer generation is using a tangential filtering system to allow for light amounts of SO2. This has made for a wonderful increase in both quality and pleasure across the board. Below the top 4, who in all honestly are the top 4 not only because they are great vignerons but also because they have the top terroir, are various other talented younger winemakers. There are a range of reputable addresses and other people might want to write about. I represent one of them commercially, François Pinon, so I'll leave a discussion of the 'second tier' to others. Peter Finkelstein´s company, World Shippers, imports Domaine Daniel Allias. I have not tasted these wines since going there in 1992, but I´m sure Peter can add something to this discussion. One domaine to watch is the Clos Baudoin of Prince Poniatowski. These wines have been disappointments for years now, even though everyone agrees that the Clos Baudoin is one, if not the best, terroir of Vouvray. The Prince, who spent some of his childhood in Brooklyn and is a charming, obstinate guy, has hired a new winemaker who is one of the most skilled and talented Chenin winemakers in France. Nicolas Rénard, who has never been to Brooklyn, used to have an estate in Jasníères and his 1995s and 1996s were perhaps the greatest expression of young Chenin Blanc that this old buccaneer has ever tasted. Rénard, who works in biodynamie, was thrown out by the owner and then hired by Poniatowski. The partnership of the two seems an unlikely partnership, but it could lead to great things for this estate if the Prince indulges Rénard and keeps him at the estate. Rénard made the 1998s, although he arrived right before the harvest and did not direct the work in the fields. 1999 is his first complete vintage and he has already produced a lovely curiosity -- a sparkling Vouvray that fermented naturally in the bottle. I drank one in France and just loved it. Unfortunately, Rénard was not at Baudoin for the 1995-97 harvests, so we'll have to see what develops there. Vintages: The 95-97 triumvirate is an incredible run, with 97 being one of the great vintages of the century. 1989-1990 were also two wonderful years. Going back ... 1959, 1947, 1921. Is 1997 as good as 1947 and 1921, which are usually considered the two best vintages of the century? Maybe, we'll see. Oddly 1947s can still be found, even here in America. Huet's importer, Robert Chadderdon, occasionally puts them up for sale. Grab them at any price if you find them. How are 1998 and 1999? It rained during both harvests and none of the top growers made Moëlleux. But I have had many delightful Sec and Demi-Secs from 1998, below the quality of 1997, but still a joy. Since no one made stickies, some of the vineyards that would normally go into sweet wines are now in the sec and demi-secs. So on the whole, there is a lot of pleasure to get out of 1998 and 1999, even if they are not 'grandiose' vintages. In terms of sourcing the top growers, their importers are:
Domaine Huet -- Robert Chadderdon. What foods? Anything you match with Chardonnay will go well with the secs and demi-secs and the Moëlleux at lower level of sugar. The Moëlleux with high sugar levels go well with the usual Sauterne clichés or on their own. Anyhow, all the above are my subjective opinions. And rather simplistically put and explained. Thanks for reading it all. Addendum I just spoke with François Pinon in Vouvray and went through the labyrnith of regulations there. Here goes ... Sparkling Wines:
Still Wines:
So people come up with names for the high sugar Cuvée, whatever they want to call them. There is no particular legislation here except you are not allowed to have the designation Grains Nobles or Grain-par-Grain as in Alsace. Growers may do a cuvée like that, but they would have a 'name' for the cuvée, they could not have anything descriptive of the harvesting. There have been questions about 1er Tries. These would be above a Moëlleux level of sugar and are vendanges tardives, although legally they could be most anything. But a good producer would only do this at a level above Moëlleux and as a late harvest. A 1er Trie is a selection in the vineyard and is usually the best thing a grower made from a particular site. One might think that the best bottling would come from even later pickings in the field, but a 1er Trie is when (although again, not legally) a late harvest brings in the best fruit in the fields. The only exception would be when a grower is making a grain noble, where they are picking grape-by-grape in a seperate passage. Thie type of harvesting occurs rarely and would be extremely late. So, in brief. Anything goes and forget trying to understand it! Or, buy Vouvray from the best growers and enjoy your wines. Or, there are various options in classifying Vouvray that are up to each grower. April 16, 2000
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