The Cellar: Loire & More Day 6

Friday, October 10, 2014

Steffen Rasch, GoLocalProv Wine Writer

Day #6 – Vouvray

I had a feeling today was going to be interesting when I set out from Tours and continued east along the Loire River to the tiny village of Vernou sur Brenne. My visit this morning was with Monsieur Remy Rouge who works as the ‘middleman’ between the powerhouse wine brand Barton & Guistier (B&G) and the independent growers of Vouvray. Barton & Guestier, by the way, is one of France’s most well-known wine brands. Their wines sell in more than 130 countries, including the US. If you go to any decent wineshop chances are there is wine of theirs on one of the shelves. B&G is what’s called a négociant, which means they don’t actually own any vineyards in Vouvray, or anywhere else in the Loire Valley for that matter, but rely on a network of growers to supply them with grapes and people like Remy to make their wines.

B&G has been doing business in Vouvray for more than 40 years. Remy, who has been associated with B&G for 15 years, works with around 40 growers in Vouvray; all of which grow one single grape for B&G, Chenin Blanc. Every year Remy travels the region thin, working in all the vineyards as well as in the cellars, to make the best Chenin Blanc possible. In the end it is Remy, along with the folks at B&G, that selects the best cuvée which then gets blended into the 2 or 3 B&G demi-secs Vouvray produced annually. Today, Remy took me to visit two B&G growers in Vernou sur Brenne.

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The first stop was at Domaine du Tartemain where Daniel Metivier and his family grow around 80 acres of Chenin Blanc. This produces approximately 250.000 gallons of wine of which B&G usually purchases around half. As in Muscadet, Saumur and Chinon, the 2014 season in Vouvray finished above average.

The increased maturity means more sugar in the grapes. B&G likes their Chenin Blancs to be at around 12% ABV, which means that the 2014 B&G Vouvray will have close to 36 grams of leftover (residual) sugar per liter. This might sound like a lot (and it technically is) but Chenin Blanc’s inherent acidity will cut that sugar so the final wine should come across as just slightly sweet with refreshing acidity.

Along with samples of the newly harvested (and still fermenting) 2014 vintage Daniel also opened a 1947 demi-sec (half-sweet) Vouvray. There is no doubt that when Vouvray is well made, in good vintages, these wines can age for decades. It is an absolutely stunning wine, rich and succulent brimming with candied ginger and white flowers.

The second stop was at another B&G grower named Domaine Hallay et Fils. We arrived just as 6th generation owner and winemaker Eric Hallay was wrapping up the morning press and getting ready to sit down for lunch. Eric Hallay grows around 85 acres of Chenin. But unlike Daniel Metivier, who sells most of his wine to négociants, Eric keeps the majority of his and sells it under his own label.

This tasting was centered around lunch which featured various bits of pork, rare beef steaks, some of the most potent cheeses I have ever tasted and an apple tart made from local apples. Besides from sampling an outrageous 1990 demi-sec, we also tasted both of Domaine Hallay’s 2012 Vouvrays – the sec (dry) and demi-sec, as well as his traditionally made sparkling Vouvray, which was aged 2 years on the lees. All of Domaine Hallay’s wines are outstanding. If all of the B&G growers in Vouvray are as good as the ones we visited today, selecting the best cuvées can’t be an easy task. I wouldn’t want to have Remy’s job – (who am I kidding, of course I would!)

Barton & Guestier’s Vouvrays are distributed in both MA and RI. Ask you local wine merchant. Stay tuned for tomorrows article featuring my visit to Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé.

Steffen Rasch is a Certified Sommelier and Specialist of Wine. Feel free to email him at [email protected] with any wine-related question or learn about wine in person by signing up for one of his tastings through the Providence Wine Academy.

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