Domaine Vincent Careme Vouvray Spring 2017
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Wilfred
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The Carêmes purchase fruit for this wine from vines with at least 35 years in the ground, on soils focused on clay, flint and limestone. The ripe, early vintage produced a succulent Vouvray, rich with apple and quince flavors. The tension from the limestone-driven acidity lends the finish earthy power and grip. It’s an impressively structured wine for the price.Year’s Best Loire Wines
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Wilfred Wong of Wine.com
COMMENTARY: As learned wine lovers, we often overlook Vouvray. This Loire Valley appellation produces many of the world's best Chenin Blancs. The 2017 Vincent et Tania Carême Vouvray is exquisite and delightful. TASTING NOTES: This wine is fresh, bright, and sumptuous. Its aromas and flavors of ripe melon and bright core fruits should pair it superbly with a chicken salad, with pickled scallions, red leaf lettuce, a splash of hot chili oil, and toasted sesame seeds. (Tasted: September 26, 2018, San Francisco, CA)
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Situated in the heart of Vouvray, Domaine Vincent Careme is the mastermind of young and dynamic Vincent Careme, The estate, overseen by Vincent and his wife Tania, currently spans 37 acres with different blocks spread over three villages: Vouvray, Vernou-sur-Brenne and Noizay. Most of the blocks are on steep slopes overlooking the Loire valley with two of them, Le Clos (meaning enclosed vineyard) and Le Peu Morier, being vinified separately to express their unique terroirs. All of Domaine Vincent Careme's wines are certified organic from 2010 onwards by Ecocert in France.
Unquestionably one of the most diverse grape varieties, Chenin Blanc can do it all. It shines in every style from bone dry to unctuously sweet, oaked or unoaked, still or sparkling and even as the base for fortified wines and spirits. Perhaps Chenin Blanc’s greatest asset is its ever-present acidity, maintained even under warm growing conditions. Somm Secret—Landing in South Africa in the mid 1800s, today the country has double the acreage of Chenin Blanc planted compared to France. There is also a new wave of dedicated producers committed to restoring old Chenin vines.
An important white wine appellation in the Touraine and one of the top in all of the Loire, Vouvray uniquely specializes in a wide range of styles from dry to sweet, and still to sparkling, each with its own definitive character. Vouvray is almost always 100% Chenin blanc (however up to 5% Menu Pineau is theoretically allowed but not often used).
Vouvray is also the name of a pretty little town just east of Tours on the northern bank of the Loire—its vineyards surround it to the northeast. Houses and cellars are carved out of the local tuffeau, a chalky or sandy, fine-grained limestone. Vineyards inhabit clay and gravel topsoil over tuffeau on the plateau, the best of which have a slight slope with a southerly aspect.
Chenin blanc’s high acidity and natural adaptability allow it to produce a wide range of styles with enormous success. Styles under the Vouvray name include sparkling, both Brut and Demi-Sec and still: Sec (dry) and Tendre (off-dry) as well as Demi-Sec (noticeably sweet), Moelleux (very sweet) and Liquoreaux (botrytized). Most can age about five years but the best quality versions will continue to improve over decades.