Vincent Carême, 2014 Update
It is simply not possible that, during my most recent visit to Vouvray, I would not call in upon Vincent Carême and his charming wife Tania. I have already written that Vincent is a driving force behind the currently ongoing renaissance of the Vouvray appellation, a statement that was largely based upon a realisation that he seemed to be teacher and/or mentor to a majority of the young and newly established vignerons appearing all over Vouvray, including Peter Hahn, Florent Cosme, Sébastien Brunet, Tanguy Perrault and one or two others. A more recent realisation that he is also the main instigator behind a number of Vouvray vignerons committing to working a section of their vines by horse, including notable names such as Domaine Huet, only serves to reinforce the impression I have that Vincent is a major player in the Vouvray appellation.
And so, one Thursday afternoon in July 2014 I stopped by to taste Vincent’s wines. My notes on these wines are presented in this report, as well as my notes from an earlier tasting of Vincent’s wines undertaken in February 2014, at the annual Salon des Vins de Loire, and also at home in September 2014. In part one I concentrate on the 2013 vintage, in part two on the 2012 vintage, with older vintages in part three.
The 2013 Vintage
As was the case with my visit to Le Clos de la Meslerie, this was another opportunity to look at the 2013 vintage from barrel, as Vincent (pictured above, drawing a 2013 barrel sample) has left a small proportion of his harvest from Le Clos and Le Peu Morier in barrel in preparation for bottling as single-vineyard cuvées. The larger proportion of both, however, he has already blended to make a 2013 Vouvray Sec, which I also tasted at the domaine.
