Vouvray Brut "Non-Dosé"

Pinon, Domaine François et Julien
France
Loire
2019

100% Chenin Blanc. Pinon makes two traditional-method sparkling wines, from bunches picked earlier than for the still wines and from the more clay and flint-forward parcels. The vines average 45 years old and have been certified-organic since 2007. For the non-dosé--versus the straight brut--the fruit is harvested later and thus riper. The bunches are harvested manually, rigorously sorted and gently and slowly pressed, with the juice flowing by gravity into underground tanks.  Fermentation is spontaneous with indigenous yeasts and lasts 4 to 6 weeks. The wine is racked into old tonneaux and steel tanks for 2-3 months of aging on the fine lees. It is then lightly filtered and bottled for its second fermentation; the wine remains on the lees for 4 years before disgorgement. Zero dosage and zero RS. 

91 points
"The Non-Dosé version of the 2019 Vouvray “Pétillant” from Julien Pinon is given an extra year aging sur latte than the regular Brut version, so whereas the latter wine was released a year ago, the Non-Dosé bottling is just hitting the market this summer. The wine is excellent on both the nose and palate, with the bouquet offering up a complex blend of quince, apple, chalky soil tones, bread dough, dried flowers and a hint of incipient smokiness in the upper register. On the palate the wine is precise, full-bodied, complex and bone dry, with a fine core of fruit, lovely mineral undertow, frothy mousse and a long, well balanced and zesty finish. Not surprisingly, given my penchant for a bit of dosage in my sparkling wines, I have a slight preference for the Brut version, but this too is a beautifully made wine. 2024-2045. "
John Gilman,
View From The Cellar
July 2024

SKU/Code: 
DB8931-19
Product Line: 
Wine
Sparkling
Varietal: 
Chenin Blanc
Farming Type: 
Organic