Careme, Vincent 2014 Vouvray l'Ancestrale

Vincent Carême's L’Ancestrale is an elegant sparkling wine that receives zero dosage, derived from a single block of 50-year-old trellised bush vines.  Bunches are small which results in low yields. The thin topsoil consists mainly of clay and flint over the limestone bedrock. Vincent takes this Petillant Naturel very seriously - it's a brilliant, age-worthy Chenin Blanc from a great vintage for Loire Valley whites, possessing vibrant fuit and firm acidity making it superb now and a good candidate for further aging.   "The wine is made using the méthode ancestrale, where the bottling interrupts the first (and only) fermentation so that there is continued carbon dioxide production in bottle, delivering the iconic pétillant style that the appellation is justly famous for. The residual sugar in the cuvée has varied a little, although in every vintage since 2012 the style has been dry. The 2014 shows a delightfully fresh, pale straw-gold hue with a plentiful and very fine bead. The nose is no less delightful than the wine’s appearance, with delicate but confident scents of dried peach slices, apricot stone and citrus zest, with touches of honey and elderflower, white peonies and subtle vanilla flowers, while the stronger vanillin elements expressed in its youth (in some bottles, at least) has certainly faded. The palate is just superb, a delicate blend of citrus fruits, floral elements, chalky minerals which seem to take on more energy with air, and a very precise frame of acidity, so beautifully composed, elegant and complete. There is a little twist of that vanillin note here, delicately intertwined around a delicate thread of toasty hazelnut, and it is long and bright. A brilliant example of the méthode ancestrale style in Vouvray." Wine Doctor tasted in 2021.