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Domaine du Clos Naudin Vouvray Moelleux 1976

This week my Weekend Wine takes us to Vouvray, the first of three vicarious visits to this appellation this week.

Along the length and breadth of the Loire Valley there are many appellations turning out wines with the power and substance to age and develop well in the cellar, a feature of the region which I think is often overlooked. Over the past two or three decades I have tasted many wines from the likes of Bourgueil, Chinon, Sancerre and Savennières which have developed positively with age. Not to mention wines from more obscure appellations, such as Jasnières and Cour-Cheverny. Even the Loire’s archetypal ‘drink youngest available’ appellation, Muscadet, in truth turns out many wines which improve in bottle over a few years. Sometimes over many years.

In terms of cellar-worthiness, however, none of these appellations can quite match Vouvray, an appellation which – certainly when it comes to the demi-sec and moelleux examples – do not just benefit from time in the cellar, but positively demand it. This lesson was driven home many years ago, at a tasting of wines from Domaine Huet presented by the long-retired Noël Pinguet, featuring examples from the 1970s, 1960s, 1950s and 1940s. These were not wines which had merely survived; the passing of time had transformed them into something special, unique even, and of course delicious, the true mark of a cellar-worthy wine.

Domaine du Clos Naudin Vouvray Moelleux 1976

This year marks 90 years since the creation of the first appellations in the Loire Valley (or indeed anywhere in France – Châteauneuf du Pape led the way on May 15th 1936). In the Loire Valley Quincy was the very first (coming in August 1936), but it won the race by mere months, as a number of other appellations were signed off the same year. Sancerre is one, and to mark the occasion this year they have added a 90-kilometre nocturnal ultramarathon to the Trail de Sancerre timetable, for 90 privileged entrants. Quite sensibly, I have decided to give this a miss; I will instead attempt to better my 2025 time in the 15-kilometre version (which comes with the added benefit of daylight). Kudos to those who sign up for this though.

And, as you might have already guessed, Vouvray is also celebrating. By the way there is also an annual trail run around Vouvray (the Trail des Bulles, an October event) running out of Château Moncontour but I have no idea if they are adding extra layers of punishment to the 2026 edition to celebrate. Perhaps choosing to mark the occasion in a more vinous style, in February a number of Vouvrillon vignerons gathered to pour wines from across the appellation, from a number of different vintages, in a variety of styles. I found the tasting particularly interesting because it brought together wines from less familiar vignerons, including some I have rarely/never tasted, and at least two wines from a domaines no longer extant. Later this week I will publish my notes, on vintages back to 1947.

Domaine du Clos Naudin Vouvray Moelleux 1976

Fired into action by this Vouvray tasting I will also publish notes on an array of vintages young and old, back to 1971, pulled from my own cellar, in (the long-overdue) episode 6 of Liquid Gold. For Winedoctor neophytes, Liquid Gold is an annual (well, it’s supposed to be annual – I have failed at this in recent years) deep dive on a sweet theme; prior episodes have looked at the 1989 and 1990 vintages in the Loire Valley (mostly Vouvray, truth be told), as well as putting random selections of Quarts de Chaume and Sauternes under the spotlight, and a more focused look at the 2001 vintage in Sauternes.

As an introduction to these reports, my weekend wine choice had to be Vouvray (you see, sometimes I do plan ahead!). My hand reached into the gloom of the cellar and settled on a 1976 from Domaine du Clos Naudin, from a time when the domaine was run by Philippe Foreau’s father, André Foreau. The 1970s and 1980s were not overflowing with high-quality vintages in Vouvray. Only 1971, 1976, 1985, 1988 And of course the superlative 1989 have really stood the test of time (and some of these more than others). Of course, this only serves to make wines from these vintages all the more special.

In the glass the 1976 Vouvray Moelleux from Domaine du Clos Naudin displays a classically burnished hue, with an orange-ochre core which fades out to a pale peachy-gold rim. There follows a simply glorious nose, seething with complex notes of herbal tea, bergamot, dried oranges, waxed apple and currants. It continues with a beautifully textured and polished character at the start of the palate, all seamless and silky, which then proceeds to an easy-going, relaxed and mellifluous midpalate, packed out with bitter dried Chenin fruits and a fine phenolic grip, wrapped in that controlled, sinewy sweetness which only old moelleux Chenin seems to deliver. It holds great flavour to mirror the nose, all dried fruits, white pepper and a rich grip, leading to a long and charged finish, with a length that goes on and on. And then on a little more. All in all this is a fabulous moelleux cuvée for drinking now, but there is no rush here, and I am confident you could come back to well-stored examples of this any time over the next few decades and find pleasure. No alcohol declared on the label, and a 73 cl bottling. 96/100 (30/3/26)

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