2006 Vouvray from Benoit Gautier My Regular Chardonnay Alternative - Yes, We Need One
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Vouvray aging in the ancient Vouvray caves
I'm always astounded at the number of cases of Vouvray I have to cram into my containers arriving from France. I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the number of people who love Vouvray. After all, it's plenty dry for the wine drinkers who like dry, and yet it's not too austere for the folks who like a little less steeliness in their glass. And, of course, there's that very friendly price, especially for a white wine. I guess that's why I don't ever have enough.
Vouvray is made from the Chenin Blanc grape and is a small wine area in the middle of the Loire Valley very close to Tours. Grapes have been grown in this area for centuries -- back to Roman times at least. In 1936, Vouvray was awarded its own appellation.
How does it taste? The Gautier Vouvray is refreshing as can be; a perfect summer wine. You will see white flowers, citrus and minerals, with excellent acidity for food. It is especially good with rich cream sauces, grilled foods and fried seafood. it has a slight green-apple crispness which also makes it a perfect summer sipping wine. There's a surprising lemony bite at the end that's quite mouthwatering.
Vouvray is planted in tuffeau, a limestone rock. Tuffeau is the same white rock that many of the chateaux of the Loire are made from. The rock was excavated from the land leaving behind cavernous caves which the Vouvrillons put to good use as wine chais (barrel storage rooms). Many of the caves date back 500 years or more and have lovely, ancient carvings in them.
You have choices in Vouvray. You can drink either the crisp sec (dry) wines, the demi-sec wines, or the moelleux (sweet) wines. Many growers in Vouvray also make a sparkling wine. I prefer the sec with its lively acidity and lovely citrus fruit flavors and pear aromas.
One of the best makers of Vouvray sec is Benoit Gautier. The Gautiers have been making wine since 1669. Theirs is a smallish domaine (about 15 or so hectares). They pick their grapes by hand. Benoit stores his wine in an enormous and historic 500-year-old cave adorned with rock carvings dating back hundreds of years.
I discovered Benoit's Vouvray in Paris at an annual tasting of over 4,000 wines (I did not taste them all) from all over France. His Vouvray was a stand-out and I've been importing it for years now. It is crisp and delicious and wins more than its fair share of prizes.
Sometimes I have to write a lot to get across my love for a wine, but somehow with Vouvray fewer words are more than enough. I think I'll take those few extra moments I've saved and go down and open a bottle of Vouvray. Will you join me? Cynthia Hurley
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