Domaine de Villemaine Touraine Sauvignon Vieilles Vignes 2022

After a few weeks of aging Bordeaux and even older Vouvray occupying my Weekend Wine slot, this week we are back to simpler pleasures, with a delightfully good Sauvignon Blanc from Domaine de Villemaine. This is a family-run domaine located in Thésée, one of several villages – along with Bléré, Montrichard and Chenonceaux – which can stake a claim as the cradle of the Touraine appellation.

Fans of the now defunct Clos Roche Blanche or its modern-day descendants will be familiar with some of the wines made in the cellars along the banks of the Cher, but there is much more to this corner of the Loire Valley one or two famous names. Viticulture in this region can be traced back millennia, evidence for this coming from archaeological digs which have uncovered ancient presses and other vinous artefacts, while the presence of numerous royal residences in this corner of the Loire Valley provided local growers with a market for many centuries.

Even so, it was only during the 18th century that planting around the aforementioned villages really took off, although the region looked very different to that which we see today. Describing the prevalent varieties planted along the Cher in 1804, the famed ampelographer Alexandre-Pierre Odart de Rilly (1778 – 1866) placed Côt (which he referred to as Caux and Cahors) at the top of the list, followed by a run of occasionally obscure varieties. Some of these are identifiable, such as Morillon (a synonym for Pinot Noir) and Grolleau, but others remain frustratingly anonymous, including Mansais and Gros Raisin-Blanc.

Perhaps, however, it is more important to note which varieties weren’t listed. One that is notable for its absence, simply because of its modern-day Turonian ubiquity, is Sauvignon Blanc.

Jules Guyot (1807 – 1872), writing in depth about the region in 1860, described an evolved but still Sauvignon-free region, the dominant varieties during his time being Côt (again), Chardenet (presumably Chardonnay?), Pinot Noir, Pinot Beurot (a commonly used synonym for Pinot Gris) and Pinot Meunier. It was after phylloxera that the ampelographical landscape changed; many vineyards would be wiped out and never replanted, but eager viticulteurs keen to establish their domaines anew were clearly drawn towards the newly propagated and (of course) grafted vines which would be resistant to the louse, and these were largely Sauvignon Blanc and Gamay. And so the region’s Sauvignon domination began.

It is easy for self-appointed wine cognoscenti to dismiss Sauvignon Blanc but the truth is it works well in the Touraine region, the other great Ligérian white Chenin Blanc offering no challenge to the great wines of Vouvray and Montlouis-sur-Loire once you travel east of Azay-le-Rideau. Nevertheless, it is this historical flip from absence to domination that has some dyed-in-the-wool Solognais vignerons decrying the presence of this variety along the Cher. The truth is though, until they all start planting Menu Pineau (which is clearly not going to happen) Sauvignon rules, and it provides a usefully punchy alternative to the style that predominates further east in Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé. Or in Pessac-Léognan, for that matter. More recent delineations, giving us the Touraine-Oisly and Touraine-Chenonceaux zones, the wines two or three steps up from the Turonian norm, serve only to emphasise the variety’s untapped potential in the region.

Domaine de Villemaine is one of many rather anonymous domaines dotted along the banks of the Cher, in this case in the village of Thésée. This is an ancient landscape dotted with mysterious Gallo-Roman ruins as well as vineyards. A family domaine run by Jean-Marc Villemaine for many years, today he is assisted by his son Jeremy, who also releases some wines under his own label. They turn out a variety of Sauvignon cuvées, from entry-level IGP and Touraine labels, through this old-vines version, up to the pinnacle that is Touraine-Chenonceaux. The fruit for their 2022 Touraine Sauvignon Vieilles Vignes comes from old vines planted more than fifty years ago. It presents a beautifully clear straw-coloured hue in the glass, followed by a punchy nose full of fresh, juice-rich fruit, all mango, lemon curd, grapefruit, buttercream and white peach. Delicious! The palate combines texture and substance with delightful bitterness and tingling acidity, and the concentration shows through with a little persistence at the end. High marks for this, for both quality and value. 93/100 (19/8/24)

Read more in:

• My guide to Sauvignon Blanc in the Loire Valley
• My guide to Loire Valley vintages

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