The Wines of Vigneau-Chevreau, 2024
After my previous report on the wines of Damien Pinon, in Vernou-sur-Brenne, today I head north, to the commune of Chançay, to report on a selection of wines from another domaine which is largely a stranger to these pages.
One of the eight communes eligible for the Vouvray appellation, Chançay is almost directly north of Vernou-sur-Brenne, not quite the northernmost commune which is Reugny, but we have certainly moved away from the famed vineyards of the première côte here. Of interest – admittedly historical interest – these more peripheral communes had to fight to gain entry to the Vouvray appellation, as when the appellation rules were drawn up in the 1930s several voices from within the Syndicat de Défense des Vins de Vouvray held that only wines from the commune of Vouvray could use the name, and the neighbouring communes would have to append theirs, giving a range of associated appellations such as Vouvray-Reugny, Vouvray-Chançay and the like. In the end, however, the notion was rejected, and a single appellation to cover all the communes was created.
There are dozens of domaines hidden in these Vouvray backwaters, many of them maintaining a very low profile. One I have been meaning to get to grips with for some time is Vigneau-Chevreau.
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