Winemaker Notes
Le Mont wines are often the estate's most reticent, but develop the strongest perfume with age. Mineral-driven with a crystalline purity, this is the precision we've come to rely on with Le Mont.
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Delicate, vibrant aromas of pear and white peach mingled with spring blossoms introduce the 2024 Vouvray Le Mont Sec. Medium- to full-bodied, it is both dense and lively, built around a fleshy core of fruit, bright acidity and a slightly incisive texture that carries through to a long, ethereal and finely saline finish. Purer and more mineral than Clos du Bourg, this is a crystalline expression of Vouvray—even within the framework of this challenging vintage.
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Wine Spectator
A silky, streamlined beam of green plum, star fruit and pear blossoms is dusted with green herbs. Salty density builds, with the purity of fruit bolstered by succulent acidity and chalky mineral notes. Floral high tones grace the finish, which shows precision and focus. Beautiful now but a bit tightly wound; this will taste better with time in bottle. Drink now through 2035. 800 cases made.
Unquestionably one of the most diverse grape varieties, Chenin Blanc can do it all. It shines in every style from bone dry to unctuously sweet, oaked or unoaked, still or sparkling and even as the base for fortified wines and spirits. Perhaps Chenin Blanc’s greatest asset is its ever-present acidity, maintained even under warm growing conditions. Somm Secret—Landing in South Africa in the mid 1800s, today the country has double the acreage of Chenin Blanc planted compared to France. There is also a new wave of dedicated producers committed to restoring old Chenin vines.
An important white wine appellation in the Touraine and one of the top in all of the Loire, Vouvray uniquely specializes in a wide range of styles from dry to sweet, and still to sparkling, each with its own definitive character. Vouvray is almost always 100% Chenin blanc (however up to 5% Menu Pineau is theoretically allowed but not often used).
Vouvray is also the name of a pretty little town just east of Tours on the northern bank of the Loire—its vineyards surround it to the northeast. Houses and cellars are carved out of the local tuffeau, a chalky or sandy, fine-grained limestone. Vineyards inhabit clay and gravel topsoil over tuffeau on the plateau, the best of which have a slight slope with a southerly aspect.
Chenin blanc’s high acidity and natural adaptability allow it to produce a wide range of styles with enormous success. Styles under the Vouvray name include sparkling, both Brut and Demi-Sec and still: Sec (dry) and Tendre (off-dry) as well as Demi-Sec (noticeably sweet), Moelleux (very sweet) and Liquoreaux (botrytized). Most can age about five years but the best quality versions will continue to improve over decades.