Vouvray Demi-Sec is one of those strange categories that we as sommeliers taste far more than we actually drink. “Good now, great in a decade,” we say, before opening something else. Well today is our proof of concept. Domaine Nicolas Brunet’s Vouvray Demi-Sec “Clos Les Farges” 2015 is pure, unbridled Demi-Sec glory, a luxurious rendering of Chenin Blanc that demonstrates the unabashed greatness of the variety in this singular style. There’s a reason Vouvray is the most famous appellation in the world for Chenin, and wines like Brunet’s are it. It’s nutty, honeyed, with a kiss of sugar providing profound vectors and volumes of flavor. Yet it still sings with unmistakable verve of tuffeau, the appellation’s iconic soils. You’re going to want to load up on this, because not only is it delicious now, but it’s also got the stuffing to last another decade in your cellar. One taste and you’ll be singing our tune about the beauty of aged Vouvray Demi-Sec!
Vouvray is the spiritual homeland of Chenin Blanc. Chenin is, of course, grown in plenty of other appellations in the Loire Valley and beyond, but if you really want to wrap your head around the grape’s beauty, stylistic variation, and ageability, Vouvray is the place to start. To know Vouvray, though, you have to know tuffeau. This unique chalky limestone is the region’s beating heart, both the bedrock of every great vineyard and also the building material for most châteaux and wine cellars. In fact, alongside grape growing, limestone quarries were historically the most important businesses in Vouvray. And tuffeau imbues the Chenin here with an unmistakable mineral imprint. Whether it’s the driest category “Sec”, today’s just off-dry Demi-Sec, or the fully sweet Moeulleux, there’s a core of mineral zip underlying the best Chenins from Vouvray. Thanks to tuffeau, in Vouvray, Chenin can pull off a trick not unlike Mosel Riesling’s. That is, it can be fruit-driven, even downright sweet, yet still feel like you’re drinking a glass of liquid rock. Little in the world compares to it.
Domaine Nicolas Brunet is a ninth generation estate located in the heart of Vouvray covering 16 hillside hectares of vines. They do things the old way here, with plowing under the vines instead of herbicides and a strict policy of exclusive hand harvesting. Over the past few years, they’ve converted back to organic farming. Chenin Blanc is literally the only variety the Brunets grow. While their cuvées are designated by sweetness level, they’re also single vineyard bottlings, from whichever parcels tend to produce the fruit best for their desired style. Nicolas’ cellars are basically a soaring cave, carved directly out of the tuffeau bedrock. It’s the perfect environment for fermenting and aging wine, where temperatures never get warmer than 57 degrees or cooler than 50. Nicolas’ Demi-Sec is picked by hand then pressed into small stainless tanks, where it ferments spontaneously. After aging for a year, it’s filtered and bottled, and generally sold shortly after. But today’s offering waited a whole nine years in Nicolas’ Brunet’s cellars before heading stateside!
Domaine Nicolas Brunet’s Vouvray Demi-Sec “Clos Les Farges” 2015 pours a limpid gold with flecks of silver. The nose is a burst of golden and yellow fruit tones, a mix of raw honey, ginger, saffron, dried apricot, roasted nuts, apple skin, sheep’s wool, wet river rocks, and punchy pulverized chalk. On the palate there’s a touch of residual sugar, but it’s really just providing some textural roundness and depth to the golden orchard fruit. And it’s balanced by pulsing acidity, the overall sense of refreshment above all else. This is serious stuff, and will definitely continue to evolve for years to come in your cellar, probably for 25 years or more. So be sure to grab as much as you can!
