The 2024 Marc Brédif Vouvray Classic is one hundred percent Chenin Blanc from Vouvray in the Loire Valley, made in a house that sits above two kilometres of galleries cut into tuffeau limestone from the tenth century onwards.
Marc Brédif was founded at Rochecorbon in 1893 and has been owned by Baron Patrick de Ladoucette since 1980. Temperature and humidity in those cellars barely move through the year, which is why the house still holds bottles going back to 1874. Those old vintages are a large part of why Chenin Blanc is taken seriously as an ageing white at all. The 2024 is fermented slowly at around eighteen degrees over two months, then rested nine months on lees in the cave before bottling.
Pale straw with a green tinge. Quince, ripe apple and white peach over honeysuckle, ginger and a chalky, smoky edge. This is a tendre style rather than a fully dry one: a small amount of residual sugar sits on very high natural acidity, the classic Vouvray balance, and it reads as texture and weight rather than sweetness. The finish is long, mineral and clean.
Ben's Recommendation:
At Wine More Cellars, the gentle off-dry balance is exactly why we point this at spiced and smoked food rather than plain seafood. Serve at 8–10°C. Drink now or cellar for eight to fifteen years, as good Vouvray rewards patience. Excellent with Thai and Sichuan dishes, pork belly, smoked duck, roast pork with apple, or blue cheese.
