Vouvray

This is a lightly sparkling wine made from Chenin Blanc in the Loire Valley in France.  Golden in color, the mousse quickly fades in the glass.  Medium sized bubbles.  The nose is different with yeast, slight doughy notes along with a bit of salinity.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, this is refreshing.  Dry.  Notes of honey (not sweet) and crushed shells.  Good acidity.  Long finish.  This drinks well on its own but really needs some food.  It would be very nice with a wide range of foods from a Beet Salad to a Quiche.  Unique and not a substitute for a Champagne styled wine.  Drink

Excellent showing for this bottle at age 21.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is nice with orange peel, sea air, slight apple cider, peach and minerality.  Full bodied.  Good acidity.  On the palate, this is complex but also delicious.  Deep with apples, peach and minerality.  Plenty of depth.  Long finish.  Great on its own, this went quite well with vegetarian spicy Indian Food.  Drink over the next ten years.  

Wow.  Beautiful wine.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has slight tangerine, pears, chalk and a bit of ginger.  Full bodied.  Dry.  Deep if still tight.  Great balance.  On the palate, this is delicious.  Young, so if drinking soon, give it air.  Notes of ginger, pears and slight burnt orange peel.  Long finish.  This is great now, but still may improve a bit.  Drink over the next twenty years.  Great on its own or with food.  This would work well with grilled Trout.  

Huet is one of the top producers in the world.  That they make Chenin Blanc in the Loire Valley just keeps the price down.  The 2020 is another star.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  It has a great nose with orange peel, slight ginger, sea air, quince.  Full bodied.  Great balance.  On the palate, this is slightly sweet with enough acidity to counter it.  Flavors of quince, slight ginger and salinity.  Long finish.  This is drinking great now and should for another fifteen years.  Great on its own, this will work nice with Thai food.

Domaine Huet makes some of the best Chenin Blanc wines anywhere in the world from dry to sweet to sparkling.  This one is semi-dry and is wonderful.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great with citrus (lemons and slight tangerine), salinity and chalk.  Medium bodied.  Light tannins.  Good balance and acidity.  On the palate, citrus with nice minerality.  This is sweet but not at dessert levels.  The acidity balances it nicely.  This drinks great on its own and will work well with spicy Thai food.  Drink over the next fifteen to twenty years.  

One of the cool things about Vouvray is that it is made from Chenin Blanc grapes which more often than not can age well.  When I walked into a local  wine store and saw this for $20, it was well worth the flier.  The only real problem is that there are no more.  Made by American Peter Hahn and imported with Rosenthal, this is a lovely wine.  Medium golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has nice minerality with hints of orange peel and a bit of apricot.  Medium bodied and slightly viscous.  At age 12, there is just a bit of sweetness here (some has probably faded since bottling).  A n

Another great bottle from this, arguably the best, producer of Vouvray.  This is Chenin Blanc at its best.  Light golden/silver in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great with quince, slight peach, saline, and lots of crushed shells and minerals.  Medium bodied and slightly viscous texture.  On the palate, this is dry.  Peach, quince with minerals underneath.  well balanced acidity.  Very smooth.  Long finish.  This is delicious.  Of course, this is quite young but it comes out firing on all cylinders.  It should drink well for the net twenty years.   This drinks great on its own (it to

Nice showing for this bottle.  A bit of oxidation, but the wine is almost 20!  Deep golden in color with some orange hues, clear and bright.  The nose has sea air, some burnt orange peel, and apricots.  Slightly viscous.  A touch of sweetness.  This is deep and complex with apricots, orange peel and minerality.  Not so much layered as close to seamless.  Good acidity.  Nice finish.  This paired nicely with some salted truffle fries but would work well with goat cheese.  Probably better with a touch of food at this point.  Drink over the next ten years.  Note, there are some oxidation issues

An interesting wine.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has almonds, grapefruits, slight chalk and a hint of salinity.  medium bodied.  On the palate, those qualities came out as well.  Very nice acidity.  Overall, a bit reticent but refreshing.  Perhaps because it came in a 500ml bottle, but I presumed it would be at least semi-sweet.  Not to be, but it did work well with home made vegan ginger snaps.  Well made Vouvray can last a long time as this showed no real signs of age.  I wouldn't worry about another five or ten years.  

From one of the top producers in the Loire Valley in France comes this great value in dry Chenin Blanc.  Light golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose is great with orange peel, sea air and minerality.  Medium bodied.  Great texture.  Dry.  On the palate, there is quince, slight salinity and underlying minerality.  Nice acidity.  Long finish.  This is delicious on its own and will work well with lighter foods and also Thai food.  This is drinking well right now and should continue to do so for ten to twelve more years.