Chenin on the right bank of the Loire
East of Tours, on the right bank of the Loire, Vouvray covers eight communes of south-facing hillsides. The appellation is devoted entirely to Chenin Blanc, known locally as 'pineau de la Loire', which it vinifies both as still wines — from dry to sweet — and as sparkling wines (Vouvray mousseux and pétillant), made by second fermentation in bottle.
The terroir: tuffeau, perruche and aubuis
Beneath Vouvray lies the bedrock of Touraine: tuffeau, a soft Turonian limestone some 90 million years old, in which the region's cellars and cave dwellings are carved. This limestone base gives the wines freshness and tension.
At the surface, two soils shape the styles: 'perruche', a clay-with-flint soil, brings a mineral, lively character; 'aubuis', clay-limestone, gives the sweet wines their power and richness. This combination explains Vouvray's remarkable range, from a chiselled dry wine to an opulent sweet one.
Style and cellaring
Vouvray's Chenin is recognisable by its vibrant acidity, which carries the wines a very long way through time. The dry and off-dry wines offer quince, apple and white flowers; the sweet wines, rare and prestigious, concentrate honey and candied fruit with a freshness that keeps them from being heavy. Fine maturity sets in around five to ten years, and the great sweet wines keep for around fifty years.