The single-vineyard, nobly sweet (i.e. in all but name “moelleux”) Aubuisieres 2009 Vouvray Le Plan de Jean evokes aromas of quince jelly, spiced apple, over-ripe cantaloupe. Creamily rich on the palate, yet with a welcome sense of fresh lime juiciness, this wine’s stony, chalky underpinnings (from this rather clay-rich site) help to further buffer its sweetness. There is a succulence, lift and elegance here that too few wines of its vintage, sector, and style achieve, and the finish here is ravishing in its mingling of apple and quince jellies, marzipan, lime sherbet, melon and mineral cling. Expect this to be worth following for a quarter century. It was good to be able to taste an expanded range of Bernard Fouquet’s many cuvees, some if which – I am ashamed to admit – I had never tasted before, having never paid him a visit. Fouquet has followed the fashionable tendency to abolish labeling with “sec” or “demi-sec” as a taste indicator (a trend notably resisted by Fouquet’s two best-known neighbors and arguably the only ones making even more exciting wine than his, namely Foreau and Huet). As with many growers’ German Rieslings, the surest hint to the wines’ degrees of sweetness is the levels of alcohol indicated on the label. But with one exception that he does label “sec,” it’s true that from 2009 none of Fouquet’s still wines taste totally dry.Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel. (610) 486-0800

The 1997 Vouvray Le Plan de Jean sports 105 grams of residual sugar per liter and 10 grams of acidity. Fresh white raisin and spice aromas can be discerned in its vibrant nose. Due to Fouquet's liberal use of oak, this rich wine's medium-to-full-bodied, coconut-imbued flavor profile is reminiscent of a Sauternes. Its long finish displays poached pear and minerals intermingled with oaky nuances. Drink it over the next 15 years.Importer: Weygandt-Metzler, Unionville, PA; tel (610) 486-0800.