Pinon, Francois & Julien 2020 Vouvray Brut Non-Dosé

François and Julien Pinon make some of the finest sparkling wines in the Loire Valley. The superb Brut Non-Dosé comes from 45 year-old Chenin Blanc vines on Turonien limestone with topsoils of clay with silex, from four parcels; Les Haut de Terne, Les Hauts de Mortiers, Chopet and Les Planches Favettes. The 2020 was hand-harvested in three passes in order to select the best grapes, with two additional selections - on a "table de tri" and again before the press. Thus the best and ripest grapes are selected, enabling this cuvée with no addition of sugar, as in a Champagne Brut Nature. Aged sur-lies for more than 3 years. 2020 (François' last vintage) is a beautiful year for this wine as the good weight and density of the vintage are balanced by firm acidity, contributing to the elegance and structure of this cuvée. The wine shows aromas of citrus peel, pear, green apple brioche, fines herbes, white flowers and stone, really quite elegant. The palate is vibrant and dense, with pear, stone, anise, mineral, herbal, smoke and bitter lemon flavors on the palate.  The mousse is fine and refreshing and there is fabulous length of white fruits and stone flavors lingering in the finish. Zero residual sugar. This very young wine is superb now but is a great candidate for extended aging - for twenty years or more - we recently tasted a 1976  Pinon Brut that was sensational!  Highly recommended.  David Lillie