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Domaine Boutet Saulnier Vouvray Les Brosses 2020

After finally getting back to my guide to the appellations and wines of Touraine last week, with Vouvray (I was in two minds whether to start here, or with Chinon – in the end the vines and wines of Saint Martin of Tours won out), I figured I should pull the cork on at least one example of the appellation over the weekend. And perhaps not one from my usual cohort of ‘go to’ domaines.

The genesis of Domaine Boutet Saulnier followed the well-worn path of evolution from polycultural smallholding two generations ago, to fully-fledged viticultural domaine today. The cellars, which sit in the Vallée Chartier, belonged to the grandparents of Christophe Boutet, the current proprietor, and it was his father André who decided to focus purely on the vine and wine. Christophe runs the domaine with the help of his wife, Astrid Saulnier, hence Boutet Saulnier.

This is a multi-parcellated domaine, and on a tour of the vineyards with Astrid a year or two ago I was quickly disorientated. They do have two easily pinpointed viticultural jewels in their crown though, the Clos Dubois and Les Brosses. The former is perhaps more renowned, having once been in the possession of Jules Delaleu, a highly regarded 20th-century vigneron and antiquarian who had an enviable collection of artefacts and fossils, many of the latter collected from the Turonian landscape. Both are première côte sites, and thus both are worthy of our attention.

Domaine Boutet Saulnier Vouvray Les Brosses 2020

The lieu-dit of Les Brosses sits teetering on the edge of the première côte, above the Boutet Saulnier cellars. Next to it is the lieu-dit of La Vallée Chartier, which sits right over the mouth of the tunnel which carries the TGV line beneath the vineyards. Looking at cadastral maps I think the Boutet Saulnier vines actually sit in La Vallée Chartier, but let’s not quibble about this. After all, what’s a Napoleonic boundary between friends?

Christophe and Astrid have just 63 ares (0.63 hectares) of vines here (their slice of Clos Dubois is even smaller) in this parcel which was historically renowned for its moelleux wines. Today Christophe and Astrid lean towards a sec-tendre style; in their first vintages on this site they did try to pick late for moelleux, but they lost too much of the crop to the sweet-toothed starlings and covetous corvids which reside in the trees overlooking the vines. So sec-tendre it is.

The fruit for the 2020 Vouvray Les Brosses from Domaine Boutet Saulnier was picked by hand, from vines which are managed using organic methods since 2018. It is 100% Chenin Blanc, the bunches pressed and the liberated juice then fermented and aged in an array of oak barrels. The aim is to have the fruit express the soils of clay and limestone, just as you would expect for a première côte vineyard. Unusually Christophe and Astrid declare the wine to be Sec Tendre (on the back label), but the residual sugar is 7 g/l, just under the requirement for the sec designation. Not all vignerons (or drinkers, for that matter) agree with the 8 g/l cut-off though. Philippe Foreau, for example, is one who believes a sec Vouvray should be très sec.

In the glass it displays a pale and fresh hue, a rather understated appearance which belies the beautifully expressive aromatic profile which calls to mind ripe peach, orange, jasmine and honeysuckle. The palate which follows is quite delicious, showing broad and seductive substance at first, with a ripe body of fruit combined with modest acidity and the borderline sec-tendre substance to give it a polished and lip-smacking presence. With a little time in the glass, however, it tightens up, later displaying more tension, grip and admirably bitter Chenin character which brings a sense of energy and balance to the midpalate. Culminating in a long and deliciously flavoursome finish, this is an absolutely delectable style which reflects the benevolence of the warm 2020 vintage, concluding with a lingering note of warm white pepper. The alcohol is 14% on the label. 92/100 (17/7/23)

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