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Domaine du Clos Naudin Vouvray Moelleux 1989

After my recent reassessment of the 1989 Château Chasse-Spleen you would be forgiven for thinking I am repeating the process this week by revisiting another wine from the same vintage.

But no!

I know this is hard to believe, given my acknowledged Vouvray addiction, my admiration for the wines of Philippe Foreau, my undeniable sweet tooth, and my ongoing adoration of the 1989 vintage, but this is an inaugural appearance for the 1989 Vouvray Moelleux from Domaine du Clos Naudin in my Weekend Wine slot.

This would not be true of the 1989 Vouvray Moelleux Réserve (same vintage but different cuvée) – one of the most remarkable Vouvrays I have ever tasted – which popped up here back in 2017.

And as for the 1990 Vouvray Moelleux (same cuvée but different vintage) I am shocked to say I featured that one back in 2014. Ten years ago. Maybe this is the wine I should be revisiting next?

It is of course no coincidence that when I look to pull the cork on an older Vouvray it is most often either the 1989 or 1990 vintage to which I turn. For years Loire enthusiasts have debated which is the greater of these two vintages; my personal preference is for 1989, but given that my stocks of this vintage far outweigh those from 1990 it is not implausible that I am exhibiting confirmation bias.

Domaine du Clos Naudin Vouvray Moelleux 1989

Both vintages saw remarkable harvests. In 1989 there was some botrytis in the vineyard, but the majority of the crop was concentrated by passerillage, the berries desiccating and sweetening on the vine without noble rot. This is significant because the wines held on to their Vouvray typicity which can be obscured by botrytis (this is true of any Loire Valley appellation, by the way). Also of note, the yields in 1989 were excellent, with some domaines bringing in between 45 and 50 hl/ha; considering the majority of the crop was of concentrated fruit, this was remarkable. The vast majority of the wines produced were sweet, with many domaines turning out multiple cuvées.

In contrast, in 1990 the vineyards were swamped with botrytis, which reduced the yields to the sort of levels you would expect with a sweet, fully botrytised harvest. The botrytis explains the vintage’s darker colour, richer texture, more evident sweetness and caramelised notes that dominate with noble rot. Meanwhile, the lower yield surely accounts for the fact that, more than thirty years on from the vintage, the 1990s are rather more scarce in the secondary market than the wines of the more bountiful 1989 vintage. As with 1989, the majority of the crop went to sweet wines, with token volumes of dry or demi-sec wines being produced; the only example of either I have encountered in recent years was the 1990 Vouvray Sec from François Pinon.

Domaine du Clos Naudin Vouvray Moelleux 1989

Anyway, that’s your 1989 versus 1990 primer. What of this particular 1989?

Well, the first thing I noticed about this bottle is that it isn’t wearing the usual Foreau neck label; it has a more angular appearance to the gold detailing, and a different font to that commonly used. This observation sent me down a Foreau label rabbit hole, and I went deep enough to realise the neck labels on my bottles of the 1989 Moelleux are not found on any other bottles of this vintage in images I can find online, although they do resemble this 1976 neck label and other bottles from the early 1980s. The main label is correct for the era, by the way. And, most reassuringly, the wine tastes correct for domaine and vintage (and I opened three bottles to be sure – it’s a tough job, this).

By the way, if Christie’s or Sotheby’s ever have need of a Vouvray label authenticator, rest assured I will be submitting my curriculum vitae (although I suspect they will continue to focus on authenticating old Burgundies and magnums of 1947 Petrus).

As for the wine, the 1989 Vouvray Moelleux from Domaine du Clos Naudin presents a bright, lightly burnished, shimmering orange-gold hue in the glass. There is a nose of toasted almonds and dried apples, delicately caramelised oranges, figs and golden raisins, along with layers of tobacco, leather, rose petals and a little dried earth, all offset by sweet ginger cake notes. The palate feels gently polished, open and modestly textured, very fresh and cool, with a fresh, lightly sinewy substance betraying the wine’s age. Finely textured and still showing evident residual sugar, with veins of phenolic structure building through the middle and into the finish, this delights with a little streak of dried citrus fruits in the finish. All in all this wine displays an understated texture and weight, beautifully balancing acidity, with a sense of light, ethereal, savoury freshness and bitterness. This is a very fine 1989 which slots very neatly in behind the Moelleux Réserve in this same vintage, and which feels decidedly ‘Foreau’. The alcohol on the label is a precise 12.6%. 95/100 (5/8/24)

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