This is the second release of the 2022 vintage, given an extended lees ageing equaling a total of two years sur lattes before disgorgement. The extra time has taken the wine from quenching fizz into altogether more refined territory. Find out more.
About the Wine
From a selection of some of the vines at around 30 years of age, Rayon is taut, multilayered Chenin, with concentrated ripeness and textural depth. The nose shows luscious orchard fruits with a softness of apple blossom, honey and the faintest touch of walnut coming from a very gentle oxidative element. Perfectly balancing a low-key richness with a lucid clarity, this finely-tuned wine is bound with a sinew-y coil of acidity that cuts with phenomenal length. Bottled with a small amount of sugar that has now fermented dry, the wine carries a perlant rush of pinprick bubbles under the crown cap, bringing an extra dimension to this impressive wine.
The vines here are of an age to reach right down to the limestone bedrock. Grapes were harvested mid-September and directly-pressed, spending the first year in old barrels and barriques before moving to steel for the second year and then bottling with no additions at any stage.
About Thomas Puéchavy
Thomas farms his 3 hectares organically and the vines vary in age from 20 to 80 years old. Sitting directly between the estates of Vouvray royalty, Domaine Gaston Huet and Clos Naudin, Thomas is something of the underdog. Fortunately, they too have been practising organic and biodynamic vineyard work for many years now, so they are good neighbours to have. The soils here differ from the majority of the region in that the limestone dominates over clay, contributing to that tightly-wound coil of acid and crystalline orchard fruit that characterises his wine.
In the cellar the grapes are pressed directly into barrels and given as much time as they need before bottling, with no filtration or additions at any stage. The finished wines span the full spectrum, from sparkling, through fresh and dry to oxidative and demi-sec. We have a couple of wonderful cuvées from the 2020 and 2021 vintages to begin, hopefully with more to follow in the future. They are fascinating expressions of the region that have made a big impression on us - we look forward to sharing them with you too, while they last!
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