Christophe Thorigny Vouvray Brut

Alcohol: 12.5%

Grape(s): Chenin Blanc

Localization: Touraine, Loire Valley, France

Tasting Notes: Christophe keeps his yields low by severe pruning throughout the growing season, allowing for fully ripe, healthy Chenin Blanc grapes. All grapes are vinified in stainless steel, giving his wine a freshness and vivacity indicative of the terroir. Ripe stone fruits and a steely acidity run through this medium bodied wine with a lingering finish.

The Domain: Christophe Thorigny farms 10.5 hectares in the village of Parcay-Meslay, one of the eight villages included in the Vouvray appellation. His family has owned vineyards in the village for four generations and the Domaine reached its present size in 1997. Christophe has followed the previous generations by selling the largest part of his production to local negociants while slowly building a client base for his estate-bottled wine. Despite this fact, his grandfather dug a spacious cave into the limestone hillside next to their Domaine where they mature their sparkling wine.

Christophe farms according to the principle of “lutte raisonnée” or minimal intervention and keeps his yields low by severe pruning throughout the growing season. The vineyard is on a plateau with soils of chalky clay and flinty clay covering a thick layer of limestone known as “tuffeau”. Vinification is carried out in temperature-controlled stainless steel tanks with different parcels being vinified separately. The assemblages are made in the spring before bottling. According to the vintage, Christophe produces a Vouvray Sec, Vouvray Demi-Sec, Vouvray Moelleux and a Vouvray Méthode Traditionnelle Brut and Demi-Sec.