100% Chenin Blanc, méthode traditionnelle, zero dosage. Fine, persistent bead framing a nose of white peach and white blossom, with citrus lift. The palate is very delicate and long, carried by subtle notes of grilled almond from lees ageing — elegant, balanced, and dry with a beautiful elegance. A precise and very fine style indeed that shows the purity Chenin brings to sparkling wine when made with real intent. Delicious!

What ultimately makes Carême the star of the appellation is his role as its revivalist. He arrived in Vouvray as a first-generation vigneron at a moment when the appellation, in the words of one longtime critic, had "rested on its laurels a little too long," and became the figure most credited with dragging it into serious, 21st-century relevance — doing for Vouvray what François Chidaine did for neighbouring Montlouis. He now teaches at the viticultural lycée in Amboise and has mentored a generation of young Loire producers who followed his lead, cementing his position not just as one of Vouvray's best winemakers, but as the person who proved, wine by wine, exactly how great the appellation could be.

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