France — wine

Vouvray AOC

Loire Valley's most versatile appellation from Chenin Blanc in all styles — dry (sec), off-dry (demi-sec), sweet (moelleux, liquoreux), and sparkling (pétillant, mousseux); tuffeau (chalk-limestone) caves traditionally used for storage; the best dry and sweet Vouvray ages magnificently for decades. The tension between richness and acidity in Chenin Blanc creates wines of extraordinary complexity.

Year Rating Notes
2022 Excellent; warm summer with late freshness; Vouvray dry of great depth; some fine demi-sec; good moelleux
2021 Good growing season; Chenin shows precision and mineral backbone; excellent sec and demi-sec produced
2020 Exceptional Chenin Blanc year; dry Vouvray of extraordinary depth; moelleux of legendary quality; landmark vintage
2019 Excellent vintage; classic dry and demi-sec showing great mineral tension; moelleux exceptional where conditions allowed
2018 Good Vouvray year; Chenin Blanc achieved good ripeness; demi-sec and sec both excellent; moelleux scarce