2020 Philippe Foreau, Vouvray Sec

Few regions and grape varieties are as synonymous as Vouvray and Chenin Blanc. In this tiny appellation to the northeast of Tours, Chenin reaches its highest highs. In Vouvray, the sometimes rustic Chenin achieves a complexity and breed that places it definitively in the firmament of the world’s most noble whites. That’s thanks largely to the village’s signature tuffeau soil. Tuffeau is a particularly porous and chalky variant of limestone and is quite literally what the appellation is built on. Vines grow on it, cellars are carved into it, even the houses in Vouvray are made from it. The porousness of tuffeau means it drains freely, retaining just as much rainfall and nutrients as the Chenin vines need, while forcing them to struggle and produce small crops of concentrated fruit. The Foreau family has been a leader in Vouvray for a century now. Since Armand Foreau established the domaine in 1923, the family has dedicated themselves entirely to the Chenin Blanc variety. The property h