Vincent Carême, 2015 Update
I have known the wines of Vincent Carême for some time now, having been tasting them regularly since 2008, and having looked back at many earlier vintages, including his very earliest bottlings. I have learnt during that time that in benevolent vintages, such as 2009 and 2010, he makes very good wines. And, of course, so do a lot of other vignerons, so in this it could be argued he is not special. But I have also seen Vincent succeed in more difficult years, such as 2012 and 2013, vintages in which he still managed to turn out some attractive wines when others in the commune struggled to produce something drinkable. From his rather vinous, cerebral efforts in 2012, to the more delicate and fragrant 2013s, all these wines are worthy of our time. This success against the odds, rather than merely making hay when the sun shines, I maintain, is the mark of a truly talented vigneron.
This most recent encounter with Vincent Carême (pictured above) and his wines took in both types of vintages, as it included a mix of wines from 2014, a very benevolent year that has given us delicious wines from all along the Loire Valley (although it was far from plain-sailing), as well as wines from 2013 and 2012, two very trying years, difficult for Vouvray in particular (2012 was just a pig of a vintage, with floods and more, while 2013 was the year of the hail). First up, I tasted the 2014 vintage, before I then turned to 2013 and 2012.
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