Vouvray wines, made from Chenin Blanc grapes in the Loire Valley of France, are known for their impressive ageing potential. Here’s a brief guide to make these fantastic wines age-worthy.
High Acidity
One of the defining characteristics of the Chenin Blanc grape (Vouvray has to be made from Chenin Blanc) is its naturally high acidity. This acidity acts as a preservative in the wine, allowing it to maintain its freshness and structure over extended periods. Of course, acidity has to be in balance with the natural sweetness and structure of the wine.
Vintage Conditions
Warmer vintages tend to produce grapes with higher sugar content, suitable for making sweeter styles of Vouvray. The sweet style of Vouvray is known as “Moelleux” and these are particularly suited for ageing. Under some vintage conditions, Botrytis cinerea, the noble rot fungus, concentrates the sugars further and is essential to produce the sweetest most intensely flavoured sweet wines (with exceptional ageing potential).
Style / Sweetness
Vouvray comes in a range of sweetness levels, from dry (sec) through to sweet. Generally, sweeter styles tend to age better due to the higher sugar content acting as a natural preservative. However, dry Vouvray from good vintages can also age gracefully, developing richer and more complex flavours over time.
L-R – A bottle of Bredif Grande Année and a bottle of Marc Bredif Vouvray Classic
Depending on the sweetness levels, vintage conditions etc. mentioned above, Vouvray wines can age for a remarkable length of time. Here’s a general guideline:
Storage Conditions
Ageing potential is also massively influenced by storage conditions. Proper cellaring with cool, dark, and stable temperature and humidity is crucial for Vouvray wines to age gracefully. If you store your wines in daylight in a kitchen, which gets hold and cold regularly, for example, it is not going to age well. This applies to all wines.
So, if you come across a well-stored bottle of Vouvray, especially a sweeter style from a good vintage, it could be a delightful treat waiting to be uncorked!
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