Francois Chidaine Vouvray Le Bouchet, Loire, France

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The most white truffle-scented of the lot of Chidaine wines of its vintage, his 2008 Vouvray Le Bouchet also delivers deep, slightly torrified low-tones as counterpoint to the vintage-typical sense of citrus. Toasted almond and hazelnut; malt and honey; luscious, rind-tinged lime, pineapple, and tangerine, play on a palate of slickly oily richness, while truffle, musk, and otherwise ineffable forest floor and animal scents play in the background. At only 19 grams residual sugar, if this had the spiny, electric personality of the corresponding Clos Habert Montlouis (or, indeed, that possessed by most of Chidaine's 2008s) it would probably taste totally dry, and as it is the sense of sweetness here is subtly integrated and hence highly discreet. This amazingly multi-faceted triumph for its vintage - not to mention phenomenal value - will almost certainly be worth cherishing and wondering at for the next 25 years. A still youthfully energetic Francois Chidaine - for more about whose methodology and recent history see my report in issue 172 - has continued to hone his long-ago manifest talents, even as (together with his cousin Nicolas) he oversees two estates (one formerly that of Prince Poniatowski in Vouvray, which accounts for 30% of total production). Based on their performance in cask, his 2009s - which weren't harvested much earlier than his 2008s - surpass those of his Vouvray and Montlouis neighbors (many of whom bottled their wines in spring) for refreshment, clarity, precision, and minerality, even though alcohol levels center around a for these appellations relatively high 13.5-14%. As for Chidaine's 2008s, while their acidity and minerality might strike some tasters as too prominent, I don't think Chidaine hyperbolizes when he calls the vintage 'magic.' You have to look to the historical collections of regional leaders Foreau and Huet to find comparable consistently high quality, making it clear that Chidaine is one of the world's finest craftsmen in the medium of white wine, not to mention a continuing source of amazing value. (I hope to be able to catch up with and report on his 2007s at some point, too, but there was simply no time to get to that when I visited him, nor since.) All of the 2009s in this report were tasted, unassembled, from a range of (nearly all 620-liter) barrels of various ages. There will as usual be an off-dry Les Tuffeaux bottling from barrels not selected for final inclusion in any site-specific cuvees - reflecting 6 or 7 parcels in all - but by its nature non-existent until after the late summer assemblage. It will however include the fruit of young vines from the flint-chalk Les Epinais that ascended to 14.7% alcohol even with high residual sugar, and whose caramelized, honeyed aura is more vintage-typical than most of the 2009 lots here. Incidentally, Chidaine intimated that he might re-instate the word 'sec' on the labels of his dry wines. I continue to consider it a mistake for him and so many of his follow-growers in Montlouis and Vouvray to rely solely on winery-internal conventions as to what tastes dry and what sweet. Chidaine now also bottles and exports to the U.S. inexpensive Touraine Sauvignon and red blends rendered from contract fruit.Importers include Beaune Imports, Berkeley, CA, tel. (510) 559 1040 and Polaner Selections, Mt. Kisko, NY; tel. (914) 244-0404