Domaine Vincent Careme Vouvray Le Clos 2014
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Wine Enthusiast
The 34-acre vineyard of Tania and Vincent Carême is run organically. This wine, from a parcel of old vines, is dry with signs of its wood aging attractively melding into the apple and spice fruits. With intense acidity and a tight texture, the wine is still fruity and young. It can be drunk now although it is worth waiting until 2022 for a more mature perspective.
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Wine Spectator
Ripe and forward at first, with creamed yellow apple, dried quince, ginger and graham cracker notes, carried by filigreed acidity. The pure mineral edge helps to streamline the finish, imparting elegance and refinement. Drink now through 2020.
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Wine & Spirits
Vincent Carême farms this steep six-acre clos organically, making the wine in 400-liter barrels (20 percent new). The old vines (50 to 70 years old) produced a tight and dynamic Vouvray in 2014, a little funky in its lambswool scents, while bright in its youthful, clean chenin flavors. It sings with coriander and white-pepper spice, a lush pleasure to enjoy now and a more complex wine if you’re willing to age it.
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2021- Vinous
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Situated in the heart of Vouvray, Domaine Vincent Careme is the mastermind of young and dynamic Vincent Careme, The estate, overseen by Vincent and his wife Tania, currently spans 37 acres with different blocks spread over three villages: Vouvray, Vernou-sur-Brenne and Noizay. Most of the blocks are on steep slopes overlooking the Loire valley with two of them, Le Clos (meaning enclosed vineyard) and Le Peu Morier, being vinified separately to express their unique terroirs. All of Domaine Vincent Careme's wines are certified organic from 2010 onwards by Ecocert in France.
Unquestionably one of the most diverse grape varieties, Chenin Blanc can do it all. It shines in every style from bone dry to unctuously sweet, oaked or unoaked, still or sparkling and even as the base for fortified wines and spirits. Perhaps Chenin Blanc’s greatest asset is its ever-present acidity, maintained even under warm growing conditions. Somm Secret—Landing in South Africa in the mid 1800s, today the country has double the acreage of Chenin Blanc planted compared to France. There is also a new wave of dedicated producers committed to restoring old Chenin vines.
An important white wine appellation in the Touraine and one of the top in all of the Loire, Vouvray uniquely specializes in a wide range of styles from dry to sweet, and still to sparkling, each with its own definitive character. Vouvray is almost always 100% Chenin blanc (however up to 5% Menu Pineau is theoretically allowed but not often used).
Vouvray is also the name of a pretty little town just east of Tours on the northern bank of the Loire—its vineyards surround it to the northeast. Houses and cellars are carved out of the local tuffeau, a chalky or sandy, fine-grained limestone. Vineyards inhabit clay and gravel topsoil over tuffeau on the plateau, the best of which have a slight slope with a southerly aspect.
Chenin blanc’s high acidity and natural adaptability allow it to produce a wide range of styles with enormous success. Styles under the Vouvray name include sparkling, both Brut and Demi-Sec and still: Sec (dry) and Tendre (off-dry) as well as Demi-Sec (noticeably sweet), Moelleux (very sweet) and Liquoreaux (botrytized). Most can age about five years but the best quality versions will continue to improve over decades.