- 1990 Foreau Domaine du Clos Naudin Vouvray Moelleux Réserve - France, Loire Valley, Touraine, Vouvray (6/28/2025)
The second time I have had this in the past couple of months, and even more appealing and more-ish than last time. Despite, the color being extremely dark (which just seems to be a signature of aged wine from this producer), it is absolutely fresh on the palate with mouth-watering acidity, ripe fruit imbued with ginger, citrus, and honey (with not too much of an apricot signature to the botrytis), and the sweetness having receded with age in the bottle. Despite clearly being a ripe wine, the acid spine keeps it in perfect balance, and it crescendos into a long finish inflected with notes of baking spices and slightly bitter citrus peel.
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Not so jolly. Dense, almost glyceric, without enough structure and acidity to balance things out. Bruised yellow apples, overripe mirabelle plums, candied ginger. 15% abv, and you feel every single %. It was a struggle to finish this (possibly oxidized/weird?) bottle.
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With those notes, why even bother finishing it?!
(I understand the impulse to repeatedly check in over time, to see if the wine has improved. But if it’s a struggle to drink, I don’t do it!)
I was hoping for a miraculous comeback I suppose. Stranger things have happened to me before, particularly with Chenin… Normally such bottles end up in risotto.
That was the fate of one German Weissburgunder. Minges? The bottle spent several months in the open, being tapped every other week, until maybe of fifth was left. For the hell of it I took a sip: it tasted like a mature Cotat!
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What’s wrong with that?? 
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Nothing at all! Maybe one can scale this effect up ?
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@MaciejK - you’re always drinking the cool stuff. Which Loire producers do you like most for Chenin these days?
Thank you Ryan, I am flattered. But I see many others (you know who you are!), in this thread and elsewhere, with impeccable taste, a long history with Chenin, and who actually take time to write detailed notes to everyone’s benefit. I have been ignoring Loire for too long, drinking too much Riesling, and started catching up only about 3-4 years ago. Which means that I missed out on some names when they were available for everyone, also pricewise. And that I rarely get to drink older wines.
From the established names, Collier, Yvonne, Guiberteau, Boudignon. I could never warm up to Huet (I only drink dry). On the richer side, every now and then Belargus (I got some before the prices went up), Chidaine. La Porte St Jean and Roches Neuves, with some question marks. Clos de la Frelonnerie, La Ferme de la Sansonnière, Chateau de Plaisance.
Bernaudeau, Batardiere,
Domaine aux Moines (sold as natural wines, but there is nothing funky there).
Domaine Andree (for one caviste the best producer in Anjou right now).
But what is really fun is exploring new names such as
Theo Blet, Domaine Payen, Clos Thierriere, Domaine des Grouas, all really good. Those are not widely distributed but being based in Europe I can order pretty much from anywhere in France.
What happens is that some new releases, also from newcomers, sell out in no time. Which is on one hand annoying, but on the other hand shows it’s not all doom in the wine business.
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Picked up an orphan 2017 Roches Neuves Saumur l’Insolite Blanc. Pretty badly oxidized, went down the drain.
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Alexandre Bain, Precious Stone 2020
100% Sauvignon Blanc, a VdF from somewhere in Pouilly Fume, aged for 3 years.
Light, unobtrusive oxidative notes, on a rather rich side, but with enough acidity, tension and structure to keep things interesting. A long, lasting finish. Ripe yellow fruit, a trace of smoke, crushed stones. Come to think of it, not unlike Foreau’s Vouvray. Or Jura Chardonnays/Savagnins.
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I’ve really always like the Bain wines, but they are much warmer expressions of Sauvignon Blanc. Very atypical.
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That’s a great list, most of which would be in mine too. Have you tried recent wines from the Ogereau stable? I think you might like them.
One not in your list, and which I had never tried before, is this:
Antoine Sanzay - Les Essarts - Saumur 2021
Interesting bouquet of lemon, grapefruit, some quince and honeysuckle, then a pure, limpid mixture of lemon, grapefruit, a touch of honey, and something smokier midpalate, before a fresh, crisp finish. Quite calm and understated, it doesn’t have the bite of the “New Anjou” wines, but it has a lot of charm. I think it’s 100% chenin, but the smoky touch made me wonder if there wasn’t some Cabernet Franc in the mix (probably not). Very nice wine but no star. 91 pts
The only problem is the price. It was a present so I looked it up, expecting something like 25€, certainly no more than 30€, and was surprised to see it on sale for 45€. For that money I can get a much better wine, and for around 25€ there are wines by Pierre Ménard for example which I prefer (another for you to try!).
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I associate Sanzay with their reds: perfectly solid wines, if not always that memorable. I buy every year a mixed case, including 1-2 whites. I might have had this one earlier this year, or maybe it was Les Salles Martin? I will pay attention next time!
Good to know about Ogereau, thanks.
Yes, kudos to who can blindly call the varietal on this one. But then, don’t many natural wines show some similarities ?
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