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Item Number: 6715
UPC: 0805109550087
Country: France
Region: Loire
Appellation/AVA: Vouvray AOC
Vintage: 2011
Grape(s): 100% Chenin Blanc
Type: Wine - White
Bottle Size: 750ml Pack: 12
Closure: Cork
Alc by Vol(%): 12
Soil Type: Silex (flint)
Winemaking Notes: Every single bunch of grapes on the property is hand-harvested, sorted, destemmed, crushed, and fermented in Lionel Gauthier's tiny garage cellar, and left to age in tank and barrels made from local chestnut (according to Lionel, oak imparts too many unwanted flavors to his wines.) Lionel’s style is what he calls “Sec Tendre” or “Tender Dry.” This is a demi-sec (off dry) bottling with very high acidity. Because most of the vines are planted on flint (silex), the minerality and acidity are startling and stunning. There is a type of mouthwatering acidity that makes drinking these wines all too easy. About Vouvray AOC: The largest white wine appellation of the central Loire, Vouvray has been producing wine for centuries.
Planted exclusively to Chenin Blanc, the region was formerly farmed by the church who helped to establish
its reputation as one of the great “crus” of France. Chenin has been farmed in the zone since at least the 4th
century.
The appellation was created in 1936 and sits on the right bank (north side) of the Loire in the Touraine region
of France.
The soils in Vouvray are primarily clay and limestone over a solid base of tuffeau, a soft white chalk with
which the famous castles of the region were built. The vineyards are often white, littered with limestone rock
that in some cases is so thick that it is difficult to see any soil.
Although restricted to using only Chenin Blanc, winemakers can make dry, demi-sec, moelleux, or sparkling
bottlings, and often benefit from botrytis, which the fog off of the nearby Loire help to form.
Vouvray wines, in great vintages, can last for decades and in some cases, for up to a century. Read more about Vouvray.
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