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Domaine des Aubuisières

Having made a 10am appointment with Bernard Fouquet of Domaine des Aubuisières I found I simply could not locate his offices. Once again, I found myself driving aimlessly around the back streets of Vouvray, useless map in hand, driving down some thoroughfares time and time again, while no doubt missing the vital turn that would lead me to the domaine in question for the fourth or maybe fifth time. Suitably exasperated after another fruitless search I reversed my appointments for the day and made my way up out of Vouvray on the Rue de la Bonne Dame to call in on Catherine Champalou. Fortunately for me, Domaine Champalou is not hard to find.

After spending an hour or wo with Catherine, tasting her wines, I asked her for directions to Domaine des Aubuisières. "Ah...Bernard" was her first comment; she and Bernard, perhaps unsurprisingly as two of the top vignerons of the Vouvray appellation, were obviously acquainted. "Very good wines" she continued, to which I agreed. Catherine gave some helpful directions, and I made my way back down to Vouvray, and a few minutes later I was shaking Bernard Fouquet by the hand. His cave is not so hard to find after all - once you know where it is!

Domaine des Aubuisières: Yesterday and Today

A familial domaine handed down from one generation to the next, Bernard Fouquet took the reins of Domaine des Aubuisières from his father in 1982, only one year before the aforementioned Catherine and Didier Champalou purchased their first half-hectare. Whereas the Champalous were graduates of the agricultural college at Montreuil-Bellay, Bernard had been busy buffing up his curriculum vitae with experience working in both Alsace and Burgundy. He saw several difficult vintages come and go during the 1980s before the great successes of 1989 and 1990 allowed these new rising stars of the appellation to truly shine. He crafted a portfolio of superb wines in these vintages, especially in 1989, wines which saw many immediately rank Fouquet among the very best in Vouvray as a result.

Today Bernard (pictured above, in 2004 and in 2010) has 26 hectares at his disposal, of which 22 hectares are planted up, naturally - this being Vouvray - with 100% Chenin Blanc. Of Fouquet's vineyards, 21 hectares are planted with grass between the vines, whereas 1 hectare sees mechanical cultivation, and vineyard management is along environmentally-sensitive lines, with minimal use of chemicals, essentially lutte raisonnée. The harvest occurs in several tries, the norm for all producers of quality around Vouvray and Montlouis, and is pressed using pneumatic equipment before transfer into fermentation vessels under a protective blenket of carbon dioxide to prevent oxidation and reduce the use of the preservative and anti-oxidant sulphur dioxide. Exactly how each cuvée is managed by Bernard in his cave depends on its origins, how it has been harvested, its residual sugar and so on, and so it is perhaps best to consider the vineyards and the wines of Domaine des Aubuisières in tandem

Domaine des Aubuisières: Vineyards and Wines

The domaine encompasses the two classic terroirs of Vouvray. First there is perruches, a combination of clay and flint, and secondly there is clay with limestone, a special blend known locally as aubuis, very obviously the origin of the name of the domaine in question. Bernard tends not to mix the two terroirs in his wines.

There are three silex terroirs in the Fouquet portfolio, the lieu-dits Les Girardières, Les Perruches and Les Chairs Salées. All three are typically combined into a single dry entry-level cuvée rather tellingly christened Cuvée de Silex, a wine which is fermented in thermo-regulated steel cuves and which subsequently sees no oak. It is not a solidly sec cuvée despite its low residual sugar, usually in single figures even in the richer vintages. Instead it usually sits at the upper end of sec with a residual sugar of 6 g/l or thereabouts, straddling the sec and the rather nebulous sec-tendre categories, the latter increasingly prevalent in the appellation in recent years. This may give it the mere suggestion of being off-dry. Nevertheless, such is the intensity of flavour and fruit richness the wine can still give the unwary taster the impression that it possesses much more residual sugar than it does.

The Cuvée de Silex is a wine of particular interest to closure enthusiasts, as Bernard has not shyed away from experimenting with this wine. The 2005 vintage saw some bottles sealed with a synthetic closure, and there are reports of the wine not lasting well; this will come as no surprise to critics of synthetics, which although fine for very short term storage do not have a reputation of lasting well over more than a couple of years. The 2006 that resides in my cellar at the time of writing is bottled under natural cork (yes, I checked) but from the 2007 vintage onwards the wine has been sealed with a Stelvin screwcap. As I wrote in my 2010 Aubuisières update, Bernard tells me that he adopted this method following pressure from important clients, and yet it seems that he has not been entirely happy with it. He is not convinced it has done his 2007 Cuvée de Silex any favours, as he had tasted it recently and found it "dead"; nevertheless he continues with screwcaps as his customers have responded very positively to the change.

Continuing with this examination of the Aubuisières portfolio Les Girardières, the first of the aforementioned three silex vineyards can also yield a demi-sec cuvée, as with the Cuvée de Silex also fermented in thermoregulated steel cuves. On occasion this lieu-dit may also yield a moelleux cuvée, the only such wine from a silex terroir.

The limestone cuvées open with Le Marigny, a dry wine and thus the aubuis counterpart to the Cuvée de Silex which is born of perruches, although whereas the Cuvée de Silex is blended from three different sites Le Marigny is from a single vineyard. Another notable difference is that whereas the Cuvée de Silex is fermented in thermo-regulted stainless steel cuve, this wine is fermented in a mix of new, one-year and two-year old 400-litre barrels, yielding a much deeper and smokier character to the fruit.

Alongside Le Marigny Fouquet possesses three other limestone terroirs, these being Le Plan de Jean, Le Bouchet and Le Clos de l'Auberdière. Unlike the flinty terroirs which tend to be blended into a single dry cuvée these three lieu-dits have all taken their turns in the spotlight, manifesting as single-vineyard moelleux cuvées. These sweeter wines are more likely although not exclusively fermented in oak. Le Plan de Jean is perhaps the best known of the trio, offering on occasion a soul-enrichening experience, the fruit carried along on a raft of botrytis, very close in quality to the exalted Cuvée Alexandre and yet with a lower asking price being the norm.

Only one cuvée breaks out of the Aubuisières terroir-driven mould, this being the top-end moelleux Cuvée Alexandre, which is named after the son of one of Bernard's UK importers. In its first incarnation it was sourced solely from Le Plan de Jean and so it was yet another expression of the intertwining of Chenin Blanc, botrytis and aubuis, but more recently it has metamorphosed into a blend of Les Girardières and Le Marigny. As such is the only still wine in Fouquet's portfolio which blends the produce of the aubuis and perruches vineyards. The wine is fermented in barrel and has the potential for long ageing, and considering the quality on offer it can be had for a remarkably fair price, even in mature vintages many of which are still widely available more than a decade on from the year in question.

As a final note in this round-up of Fouquet's wines, he also produces some good sparkling Vouvray, blending fruit from both limestone and flint terroirs. Fermented first in steel and then in the bottle for the secondary fermentation, this is obviously a méthode traditionelle rather than ancestrale cuvée.

Aubuisières Opinion

On my first ever visit to Domaine des Aubuisières I tasted through the range in an atmospheric tasting cellar, hewn from a wall of rock and stuffed with barrels, but hidden behind a very industrial-looking warehouse frontage. This is the real business end of Domaine des Aubuisières, with fermentation vats, crates of bottles, and noisy automated riddlers, machines which sound a high-pitched intermittent alarm before they rotate their giant cage of bottles once more. Bernard tolerated my own source of noise - my three children under the age of seven who accompanied me on the visit - very well. "Pour jouer est normal. Pour ne pas jouer, n'est pas normal", he reassured me.

As I have written many times before, one of the joys of visiting a domaine is getting to know the vigneron in question; the more I like the person making the wines, the more inclined I am to buy them....provided the quality is also there, of course. Bernard Fouquet is a man with a sound philosophy both when it comes to life and wine, and the wines he produces are certainly of very high quality. And so he seems to tick all the boxes. His wines are vibrant, rich, vigorous and pure and he remains, in my opinion at least, on the very top tier of the Vouvray hierarchy. Subsequent tastings, away from the romance of the cellar and the charm of the winemaker, in environments more suited to objective assessment, have only served to confirm these earlier impressions. And so these are wines I find very easy to add to the cellar, a practice enhanced somewhat by the fact that they also offer remarkably good value.

Finally, back to that very first visit of mine to Domaine des Aubuisières. As we parted company on that day I mentioned the difficulties I had that morning finding the domaine, and that as a result of getting lost I had instead first called in on Domaine Champalou to taste their wines (and to see if I couldn't press Catherine for a few helpful directions). "Ah...Catherine" came his reply...."very good wines". A sense of déjà vu washed over me as once more I found myself in agreement with one of Vouvray's top vignerons. (31/8/04, updated 6/10/10)

Contact details:
Address: Vallée de Nouy, 37210 Vouvray
Telephone: +33 (0) 2 47 52 67 82
Fax: +33 (0) 2 47 52 67 81
Internet: www.vouvrayfouquet.com

Domaine des Aubuisières - Tasting Notes

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Domaine des Aubuisières Vouvray Sec Cuvée Silex 2010: Bright and flinty on the nose, elements of citrus fruit coming through, with a smoky edge, characteristics which both Chenin and Sauvignon show on this terroir I think. A beautiful substance on the palate though, obviously good flesh, but with a very clean minerally-talcy style which goes beyond papery-soapy femininity. Very fine acidity cutting through it too. A very elegant although youthful style which will be fine in 5-10 years time I think. From a Loire 2010 tasting. 16-17/20 (January 2011)

Domaine des Aubuisières Vouvray Sec Le Marigny 2010: A touch of whisky mash on the nose here; I've learnt this is just a hangover from winemaking and it will fade. Underneath is the toothsome sweetness of the fruit, heady and perfumed, with a wild, thyme-honey edge to it. A solid style on entry, although the palate is led by a very fine acidity which persists through the palate although it is very well covered by the weight of sweet apple-pear fruit at times. This is very typical of a good, young, high-quality Chenin overall. Lots of substance here, lots of promise too. From a Loire 2010 tasting. 16-17/20 (January 2011)

Domaine des Aubuisières Vouvray Moelleux Le Plan de Jean 2010: This has a different style on the nose, more solid than the other wines, less perfumed, with a more stony and minerally character. There are notes of herby-honey, apple and pear, but these young-Chenin characteristics play a secondary role behind the stony notes which are more evident. This comes through on the palate as well, although there is some sweet fruit here there is also a very well defined but gentle core of acid, along with a mild but attractive minerality. Most notable is the fleshy substance of the wine, which comes from a handsome residual. It feels fairly light for a moelleux, so don't expect hedonistic sweetness from this wine. Nevertheless, very true to the appellation and full of potential. From a Loire 2010 tasting. 16.5-17.5/20 (January 2011)

Domaine des Aubuisières Vouvray Cuvée de Silex 2009: Yield 40 hl/ha on average, residual sugar 6 g/l, total acid 6.8 g/l. Alcohol 13%. Fermented and then matured en cuve. Bottled under screwcap (the only wine in the range to be closed this way) since the 2007 vintage. This has a pure and linear character on the nose, fine and convincing. A great style on the palate, vibrant acidity, lovely fleshy texture, minerally and honeyed, and yet very much in the sec arena in terms of perception of sugar on the palate. This is complete, broad, vigorous and concentrated, with a great and vivacious finish. From a 2010 Aubuisières update. 16.5-17.5+/20 (February 2010)

Domaine des Aubuisières Vouvray Le Marigny 2009: Yield 40 hl/ha, residual sugar 3 g/l, total acid 6.9 g/l. Alcohol 13%. Fermented in 400-litre barrels, one-third each new, one-year and two-years old. A touch more smoke and mineral here compared with the Cuvée de Silex, boldly presented, with a layer of pure stone fruit. Somewhat leaner on the palate than I expected, but very fresh, with piercing and vibrant acidity as a backbone. Lots of substance underneath despite the low residual, lots of energy too, this is a fine effort. Just lacks a little precision compared with the Silex. From a 2010 Aubuisières update. 16.5-17.5+/20 (February 2010)

Domaine des Aubuisières Vouvray Les Girardières Demi-Sec 2009: This has 25 g/l of residual sugar, 8.25 g/l total acidity and 12.5% alcohol. Fermented and raised en cuve. There is still some sulphur on the nose here, although with clean fruit behind. The palate is full of sweet, ripe and fleshy pear fruit, polished and well-rounded. Lovely balanced acidity, less energetic than the two sec wines in this vintage I feel, but still a very admirable and vigorous style. Clean, more minerally on the palate then the nose, with creamed citrus fruit. This is lovely and should be great with a little cellar-time. From a 2010 Aubuisières update. 16.5-17.5+/20 (February 2010)

Domaine des Aubuisières Vouvray Moelleux Le Plan de Jean 2009: This sweet cuvée has 90 g/l residual sugar, with 7.5 g/l total acidity and 11% alcohol. Clay and limestone terroir. Fermented and matured en cuve. A fresh and very pure nose, light and direct but filled with lovely stone fruit character. Lots of verve on the palate, a fine but lightly honeyed structure narrowing down into a well-tuned finish. Great fleshiness here, vigorous, well-defined with good acidity. Overall a delicious, energetic and well-composed wine. From a 2010 Aubuisières update. 17-18+/20 (February 2010)

Domaine des Aubuisières Vouvray Cuvée Alexandre 2009: Residual sugar 160 g/l, total acid 8.25 g/l, alcohol 12%. Aged in 225-litre barrels which have seen at least four vintages. The nose here carries the aromas of honey and quartz, floral and powerful. This is open, expressive and impressive; what wonderful character! Great generosity on the palate, evocative flavours, with honeyed stone fruit, with a rich seam of minerals and quartz. A brilliant style here, huge energy, amazing vigour backed up by precise and mouth-watering acidity. A supreme example of the type which should be delicious young but which should be majestic given time. From a 2010 Aubuisières update. 18.5-19.5+/20 (February 2010)

Domaine des Aubuisières Vouvray Cuvée de Silex 2003: I first tasted this at the domaine in 2004 and bought some, impressed by how fresh and defined it seemed in a hot vintage (that isn't to deny the wine is a bit fatter or that the acidity seems more gentle than is usual). A lovely hue, pure and golden in the glass, and a fresh fruit-laden nose, full of pears and crystalline stone fruit, with minerals alongside. Cool and fresh on the palate, although with a beautiful and broad creamy texture. There is substance here, a savoury and mineral grip, and elegantly defined edges. Pears, mint, bay and more, all sugar-crusted, although with no sweetness. It doesn't have much in the way of overt acidity, but it has plenty of freshness and definition, and a gently fading finish. Not a wine for every day for sure, but with a beautiful texture, flavour and presence this is lovely for sipping. Five years ago I wrote "drink over the next five years" but clearly it will go longer than that. Of note, I was tasting the latest releases with Bernard Fouquet at the Salon in February and in more recent vintages this cuvée has been bottled under screwcap. 17/20 (February 2010)

Domaine des Aubuisières Vouvray Cuvée de Silex 2003: A very pale, limpid hue. Delightful nose that carries me straight back to my tasting in Bernard Fouquet's cave; ripe pears, and also freshly picked mint. Lovely presence on the palate, showing a little fatness in keeping with the ripe vintage. Good mineral character, a little white pepper on a slightly drier finish. Simply lovely style. Drink now or over the next five years. From a Loire Extravaganza tasting. 16.5+/20 (July 2005)

Domaine des Aubuisières Vouvray Cuvée de Silex 2003: An aromatic nose. Good palate, elegant, balanced. Ripe, minerally. It has some concentration and will cellar well. 15.5+/20 (June 2004)

Domaine des Aubuisières Vouvray Le Plan de Jean Moelleux 2003: 100 g/l of residual sugar. Lovely fresh nose. A delicious sweetness on the palate. There is real finesse here. Ripeness too, and with such fine balance this should also cellar well. 16.5+/20 (June 2004)

Domaine des Aubuisières Vouvray Le Marigny Moelleux 2003: 160 g/l of residual sugar. Despite this a very pale wine. So clean and pure on the nose. An impressive, pure, concentrated, focused palate. Lovely, ripe, cellar-worthy. 17+/20 (June 2004)

Domaine des Aubuisières Vouvray Cuvée Alexandre Moelleux 2003: I have an inkling that my last bottle of this showed a much richer, bronzed hue, in keeping with the rich reputation of the vintage. This time, although rich and yellow-golden, this wine does not have the burnished suggestion I seem to recall. This fresher character seems to run through the nose and palate of the wine too, the aromas lively and tear-jerking, the palate broad and enthralling. Aromatically, there are notes of mango, candied pineapple, sweetly intense pear and melon, all imbued with honeyed richness, with a firm, sweet, minerally suggestion, nuanced with rich, biscuity elements. Beautifully seductive on the palate, polished and carrying much sweetness, and what I find here that I have not really noted in previous vintages is extreme elegance, a lifted and fresh element along with the intense, solid, lightly minerally and lightly crunchy. It is a vibrant wine, with tinges of orange citrus cutting through the baklava pastries, warm and honey-drizzled, sprinkled with pistachio and almond. The substance is impressive, the acidity admittedly taking a back seat, as previously noted, but it remains fresh and with good grip. I previously questioned this wine's future; no more. This could go for decades I think. Beautiful, very long, bordering on ethereal, seemingly now transcending the vintage's style. From a Loire 2003 tasting. 19/20 (September 2011)

Domaine des Aubuisières Vouvray Cuvée Alexandre Moelleux 2003: This already has a deeper, richer hue than I recall from my tasting in 2005. The nose, however, is quite haunting, and again here it already shows some advanced development, although in some respects it still reflects the nose found two years ago. It is still brimming with aromas of tropical fruit, like the melon and pear previously noted, but now there are also rich notes of honey, biscuit and caramel. This all seems very deep and luscious, but also complex and rather evolved, although there were subtle notes of caramel on the endpalate when I last tasted it, and as a nuance this is a very attractive characteristic. On the palate it has freshness, although the acidity is rather low, and how this comes across is in part very dependent on serving temperature. It has a very forward, open and evocative style, rather ripe, rich, creamy and rounded, with low acidity. But there is liveliness too, and some vigour. But overall it has a full, broad nature, and is full of delicious tropical and candied fruit. It is very fine, although I am still uncertain as to how this will age. For label images and more see my Wine of the Week write-up. 19/20 (May 2007)

Domaine des Aubuisières Vouvray Cuvée Alexandre Moelleux 2003: Just a little deeper than the Cuvée Silex, but not much. A pleasing, mineral-laden nose, showing some herb-tinged tangerine skin, melon and pear. And what a palate; creamy yet balanced on entry, showing great concentration and also moderate weight, building through the midpalate. And then an expanse of flavour, touched with joyful nuances of caramel (reminiscent of Baumard's 2001 Quarts de Chaume) and ripe melon fruit, which slowly fades along an elegant finish. Super length. This is stunning. Will go for years, maybe decades. An elevated score. From a Loire Extravaganza tasting. 19+/20 (July 2005)

Domaine des Aubuisières Vouvray Cuvée Alexandre Moelleux 2003: A little more colour here. Ripe, full nose. Superb palate - still very youthful, but a balanced concentration which will age well over the next ten years. 18+/20 (June 2004)

Domaine des Aubuisières Vouvray Le Marigny 2002: Another aromatic nose redolent of ripe, freshly cut pear. Again balanced and elegant palate. There is greater complexity here. Fans out on the endpalate to reveal real interest. Lovely. Again, will cellar well. 16+/20 (June 2004)

Domaine des Aubuisières Vouvray Les Girardières Demi-Sec 2002: The only demi-sec cuvée produced from the 2002 vintage. Ripe nose. Appropriate texture on the palate. It has delicacy and balance. Very approachable. Will improve short-term. 15+/20 (June 2004)

Domaine des Aubuisières Vouvray Moelleux 1990: A yellow hue. Attractive honey and musk nose. A honeyed palate, with toffee notes. A beautiful backbone of fresh acidity. Lovely alcohol. From a 1990 vintage ten year on blind tasting. 18/20 (August 2000)