Marc Bredif Vouvray Classic 2023

Marc Brédif is one of the true historic names of Vouvray. The estate was founded in 1893 as Château les Roches, renamed in 1919 when Marc Brédif took over from his uncle and set about building a reputation for uncompromising quality — the house was also one of the first in Vouvray to pursue sparkling wine, a tradition that continues today. In 1980, ownership passed to Baron Patrick de Ladoucette (whose family also owns the celebrated Comte Lafond estate in Sancerre), and the wines are still aged in the property's extraordinary troglodyte cellars — caves carved into tuffeau limestone cliffs dating back to the 10th century, which double as a working archive of vintages stretching all the way to 1874. "Classic" is the label that distinguishes this traditional expression of Vouvray from the rest of the Brédif range: 100% Chenin Blanc from vines averaging 25 to 30 years old around Vouvray and neighbouring Vernou-sur-Brenne, grown on chalk-clay and flint-clay soils. The grapes are hand-picked, pneumatically pressed using only free-run juice, fermented over two slow months at a cool 18°C, and aged nine months on the lees in tank.

The result is classic, gently off-dry Vouvray of real precision: a crystalline pale-yellow glass gives up ripe peach and pear alongside exotic pineapple and citrus, deepening into quince, chalky soil tones, lanolin, orange peel, and white lily.