Winemaker Notes
#91 Wine Spectator Top 100 of 2023
Pinon's 'Silex Noir' bottling is named for the rare black flint soils of the Terné and Les Batailleries vineyards that produce the grapes for this bottling, and that flinty minerality carries through on the palate. A sec tendre, this gently off-dry cuvée eloquently displays why François Pinon is consistently considered a top producer of Vouvray, their wines representing an accumulation of centuries of generational knowledge. The long and cold two to three month fermentation of this wine with native yeast and no chaptalization endows delicate aromas of lemon zest, greengage plum, and quince, nuances that would be lost with a hotter fermentation. The racy mineral core given by the chalk subsoils is balanced by a slight amount of residual sugar. This wine benefits from an hour or two of decanting so that its complex aromas can fully unfold.
Professional Ratings
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Wine Spectator
A warm, sunny, seductive white, with a luscious profile to the persimmon, ripe pear, green plum and crushed nectarine flavors. This has a very creamy texture, with a beam of vivid acidity and salty mineral notes keeping it honest. Earthy undertones move through the supple palate with a veil of smoke marking the tangy finish. Drink now through 2032.
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.